Attempt of a Love Story
by vivitoru
Summary: Ch. 1-4 EDITED. An alternate telling of the events following episode 21. Alto is back at the Saotome household but it is clear to her that his mind is elsewhere. Alto/Sheryl.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N:__Hello everyone! Here is my first attempt at a fanfiction. I've done it while waiting for episode 22 (I had nothing better to do these days)._

_The story takes place after Ranka's departure at the end of episode 21 and although this story is not really original I had to do it in order to make up for the lack of SherylxAlto interaction in this episode (please forgive the OOCness but I was just getting frustrated at the triangle)._

_I hope it won't be too hard to read this nonsense and I would like to thank all the readers, darkmirage for his translations I've used in the story and the macross frontier staff for creating such a wonderful anime!_

_Finally I'd like to add that episode 22 and 23 were awesome (I may have misunderstood Alto all along T.T). Hope for the best regarding the 2 last episodes!_

**Disclaimer****: ****I do not own any of the characters present in this story.**

**BETA-ED - 3/1/11 **(by steshin)

* * *

She experienced a heartache she never felt before as she saw him sitting on the floor of his own home. She couldn't help but notice how distant his gaze was, as if he was currently seeing a whole world that was only visible to him.

She already knew the reason for his strange behavior. His best friend had just died after all and he couldn't do anything to save his life nor the lives of the people that had been mercilessly slaughtered during the most recent attack.

But as painful as it was for her, she had to admit that these issues were probably not the ones responsible for this display. He had always been the type that was prone to get angry over the most trivial matters after all.

"Ranka-chan..."

She had no doubt that the green-haired girl was the reason for his forlorn state. She had always been in a position to notice how much he cared for the young songstress of hope. Whether this was out of duty or a brotherly form of affection that resulted in his seemingly need to be overprotective around her, she didn't know. She could see how much Ranka leaving Frontier affected him.

When he arrived that night, she could see all the inner turmoil that was reflecting in his eyes.

The sight of his pretty eyes did not bring the same effect she felt when she looked at him, not only did it fail to give the usual warmness in her, it also brought pain she wished she could just forget.

Not only did she feel guilty about not telling him the truth about her own condition, she also felt that same pain she felt when he came to her rescue after her piloting fiasco, and then inquiring about Ranka's whereabouts immediately after.

To him she was just a mere friend, and while that was the reason that compelled her to seek his company in the beginning… she now couldn't help but to crave for more.

Sheryl Nome had fallen hard for this former kabuki performer and yet she was invisible to him, as his gaze was set on the dark sky with his trail of thoughts solely focused on her now gone "rival", Ranka Lee.

She had already "fallen in love" before but now she understood the difference between a mere "crush" and a more serious love. Never before had she felt so helpless, so distraught. Never before had her thoughts been such a mess...

The object of her affection was right before her and yet she couldn't bring herself to say or do anything except for the wishful thinking she had been making for these past minutes.

Breathing deeply for one last time, she finally found the resolve to speak, an irony for the former Galactic Fairy who was widely known to be someone who was impulsive and not afraid to speak her mind.

"Alto...are you okay?"

Nice one, she thought, as that was obviously not the case. She braced herself for the incoming outburst she knew was coming. However rules were meant to be broken, the lack of the awaited outburst both surprised her greatly and saddened her as well.

His lack of reaction being the last straw, she did what she knew for sure would elicit some kind of reaction from him.

"So you're going to mope around and wallow in self-pity over the fact that you could not prevent her from leaving?"

"…I'm not"—

"Yes you are! Michel is dead! Can you imagine Klan's pain? Yours is not even comparable and yet you seem like the whole world turned against you!" She was shouting now, not even caring if she might disturb their neighbors in such an hour.

"What do _you_ know! _You_ weren't even there! You didn't see him being thrown out into space! You didn't see her crying while clutching his helmet! You didn't see her leave the fleet for the Vajra's! You were in the shelter _the whole time_, waiting for all of this to be over!"

"Yes I was, but I couldn't do anything else"—

"Aren't you Sheryl Nome? Sheryl Nome this, Sheryl Nome that!"

Even though she already knew that talking to him tonight wasn't going to be pleasant, she couldn't help but feel the tears coming.

"Aren't _you_ a pilot? What's stopping you from going out to search for her!"

"If I really could, I still wouldn't! Do you expect me to ditch my duty and go play hide and seek in space? How the hell am I supposed to search for her?"

"To hell with your duty! Do you really think you would be able to protect anything while moping around? If you care for her, you should just go and give it your best..."

As appropriate as it would have been, she couldn't bring herself to use the word "love".

Hearing her ragged breathing, Alto came to a halt and their heated exchange died down as abruptly as it had begun. She silently thanked him for this well-needed break as she couldn't go on anymore.

"I'm sorry... I didn't"—

"What for? For still being here while you should be up there searching for her like a madman? For letting her leave in the first place?" Her voice was no more than a mere whisper by now.

No answer came from the man standing before her. She thus gathered all of her willpower and raised her head to look at his eyes but she couldn't see his face as he tilted it downward. She didn't need to see them however to know what they were reflecting right now.

Guilt, sorrow, anger... somehow it seemed to be her own feelings, as those were always the ones she had when talking to since having learned about her condition from her former manager... Those feelings that were always in the way of the simple joy she was experienced every time she saw and talked with him...

While she was lost in her thoughts, her pilot did something she never expected he would do.

A common gesture in some kind of soap opera that was utterly unthinkable coming from Alto.

And yet it happened as he took her in his arms and hugged her without her needing his support due to her illness or whatsoever reason that usually would justify such an act coming from the former Sakura-hime.

He never ceased to amaze her and even though it lasted only for a few seconds, she couldn't help the blush that crept on her cheeks.

However this moment of bliss was cut short by his next reply.

"Thank you... Sheryl..."

His voice was so gentle in spite of their earlier quarrel and yet she didn't find any comfort hearing those three mere words of gratitude. Deep down, she knew what she wanted to hear from him, no matter how selfish that wish was in her current state.

"Just go already..." _I don't need your gratitude_, she wanted to add. She didn't want it, she just wanted him to return her feelings, and stay by her side.

That night, she was able to learn how wrong she was when she thought she couldn't feel any more miserable than she already was after what Grace had told her. Tears were ready as he let her go, but she didn't let them fall lest her act would be unveiled. He was a former performer after all who could see past her act.

The only things he didn't seem to be aware of though were things pertaining to him.

He didn't look back as he made his way to the entrance and she knew his mind was already trying to figure out what he should do to find the Superdimensional Cinderella.

As soon as he left, she put on some clothes and left, hoping a night walk would help soothing some of her inner turmoil.

* * *

As he made his way to the SMS quarters he couldn't help reminiscing about the past few days and all the events that occurred in such a short time.

Michel was no more, the city had been completely ruined and Ranka wasn't here anymore. He couldn't see why she would up and leave the fleet to go to the Vajra homeland, especially after the tragedy that occurred in Frontier.

Alas she wasn't the only one he failed to understand recently, Luca being the first on the list. The young boy had indeed suggested that they should use Ranka to lure the Vajra and he didn't hesitate to detonate Island 3.

Now that he thought about it, it seemed to be the same device that blew up Galia IV back then. Did he have a role in this incident as well? The possibility was there and somehow the words Michel said about not sneaking off on his own didn't seem so out of place anymore...

His thinking was interrupted when he passed in front of what was formerly known as the entrance to Island 3.

The Zentradi mall was no more.

"Formo..."

A place that seemed to be directly taken from a fairytale, unless you were already used to Macronized Zentradi.

Come to think of it, this was exactly Sheryl's initial reaction when he brought her there.

"A Galactic Fairy in a land of fairy tales..."

She was the last one he could turn to in these dire times but even she was getting harder to understand. Her actions didn't really change that much but her usually overflowing self-confidence was nowhere to be found recently. He couldn't sense it like he used to and it bothered him.

He caught himself reminiscing about their past "date" and how much she had changed from that time.

It wasn't all that long since they went to Formo and yet it felt so distant at the same time. Maybe bringing her back here would be able to bring back that too-long-gone cheerful side of hers. It was unfortunate that he wouldn't be able to do so now.

He looked up as he passed another ruined building, only to realize where he was heading.

"...Wrong way..." That girl always had a knack of keeping him from doing things right and the mere thought of her sufficed to lead him astray on his path to the Quarter. And thus, Alto resumed his walk to the Macross Quarter.

* * *

She had been walking for several minutes now when she abruptly came to a stop upon realizing where her feet had led her.

Once again, she found herself standing in the same place she had gone to not so long ago. She actually thought it was rather funny how she seemed to always come here when things weren't going her way.

Even though circumstances were different, she had to admit that he was always the reason for her coming here nowadays.

She spotted a lone bench and tried to make herself as comfortable as she could before directing her gaze towards the outer space stretching in front of her. Maybe she could spot him when he would sortie as she was able to way back then when she saw some VF-25 units.

Her focus on the scene before her had a surprisingly soothing effect as she was able to forget everything for a moment.

This welcomed break was interrupted when she heard footsteps behind her. Turning around, she came face to face with a little blue-haired girl. However she knew this appearance was not her real one for she had already met the giantess' real self.

"Klan? ... What are you doing here this early in the morning?"

Assuming a military officer's working day did not begin at three a.m., it was safe to think there was something bothering the girl before her. In fact, it was not too far to find the reason for her apparent distress.

"I should ask you the same question. I didn't think an idol would be out at this hour. Being one seems to be tougher than I thought. It almost makes me glad to be a pilot..."

The little girl, in appearance only, made her way to the bench and took a seat as well before resuming their talk.

"I figured a walk would help me clear my mind. I had too much to think about these past few days... I must say I didn't expect to meet you here, care to explain your side of the story now?"

"I'm playing the tragic heroine. I think it suits me the best since she's always the one who ends up making the biggest sacrifice for the greater good, thus making the biggest impact on the viewer. Nobody would be able to make a greater impact than Sheryl Nome, don't you think?"

Somehow her explanation didn't seem to convince the Meltran.

"I came here for the same reason."

"Did it help?"

"I guess so... since I've been able to forget my worries for some time now, until you came out of nowhere that is."

"Maybe you want me to leave? Are you waiting for someone special to show up?"

Sheryl knew that reply wasn't meant to be harmful but it still pained her to hear it.

"Yes that's right. I was waiting for him to show up." As she said so, the songstress gazed upward.

"Alto? So you're done denying he is special to you? That's an improvement on your front."

"It doesn't even matter anymore."

"You know, there's no way he would be coming here."

That statement eventually caused her to switch her focus toward Klan. She could see the pain flashing in the Meltran eyes while she was looking at the outer space.

"He told me about it... I'm sorry, troubling you with my trifling matters when you ... I'm sorry..."

It was the first time she noticed the broken glasses hanging around the neck of the pilot since they met.

"I knew it could happen anytime, but still... I miss him..."

Klan couldn't hold her tears anymore, thus letting them fall freely. Upon seeing this, Sheryl's own tears blurred her vision. She hadn't allowed herself to cry earlier that night but she could probably allow it for her two friends.

Taking Klan in her arms, Sheryl finally let go the tears she had been saving. That night the two women cried in each other arms.

Sheryl eventually fell fast asleep, thus giving Klan some time to think about the former Galactic Fairy, effectively distracting her from dwelling on Michel's untimely demise. Was she really waiting for Alto to show up here in the middle of the night?

As if hearing the cue, she saw some NUNS variable fighters patrolling the area. That was the only clue she needed to know to understand the sudden breakdown displayed by the sleeping girl beside her.

A girl that tried to stand strong in the midst of her own despair, a girl that pushed away the man she loved to spare him from the pain of losing a person close to him. A girl that she would eventually have to wake up and bring back home.

* * *

Several hours had already passed since he reached the SMS quarter.

He had already put on his pilot suit and climbed into his VF-25 cockpit but he couldn't bring himself to launch yet. Not having the permission to sortie wasn't the reason he hadn't done so, as he was well-known to be a hot-headed pilot who had always gone against his orders in the recent past.

He just didn't know where to begin his search, as he had no clue on Ranka's whereabouts.

Why did he feel the need to rescue her in the first place? Didn't he tell her to do what she wanted to? Going on a journey to the Vajra homeland was not what he had in mind at the time but he was sure she had her reasons to go. Anyway his squad leader had entrusted him with her protection and even though she tended to act like a child sometimes, she was still a dear friend of his. She was even the reason he joined SMS in the beginning after all.

Besides, Sheryl wouldn't leave him alone if he didn't search for the green-haired teen.

His gaze shifted toward the right side of his cockpit where he had previously put Sheryl's earring back then. It was such a shame how he had lost it on his first mission. Maybe he should try to replace it even if he knew no earring could replace hers as it was the only keepsake she had from her late mother.

He could always ask her out to make up for the loss. Whether this would prove to be sufficient in her book was another question he didn't have the answer to but he had nothing to lose in the process anyway.

As he shifted his gaze to the other side of the cockpit, he spotted a blue fighter in a corner of the hangar. Upon seeing this, he remembered the talk he had with his friend about women.

"Seems like you were wrong about her, Michel... In fact, no matter what I do, she always gets mad at me these days, talk about mood swings. And you were the one saying I would regret it for the rest of my life if I didn't go after her."

Since that fateful day, Alto had been pondering over the late sniper's words.

They could die at any moment being military pilots and yet here he was trying to figure out why this woman was pushing him away from her, instead of going out of his way to let her realize how much he cared.

He shouldn't wait too long either, Michel's unwillingness to get serious prevented Klan from being happy after all.

He could be the next one on the line for all he knew.

Some images of the Galactic Fairy flashed in his mind, their first meeting and the negative impression he had of her, their time in the shelter and the admiration he felt for her (he actually blushed when he recalled how she had shown more than she had planned to at that time), their date and the playful side she had displayed along with her inspiring talk, their time on Galia IV where she tried to give him what he wanted the most even though she was in no shape to do so, their talk on the school rooftop and the tears she practically shed...

They sure had gone a long way to the point they were at now.

Maybe it really wasn't the best time to play hide and seek in space.

Reaching this conclusion, Alto finally decided to go back to his mansion where a certain songstress had been living in for several days now.

"I'm a slow learner, aren't I?"

"Yes you are and it seems you're mad too considering how you've been talking to yourself."

Upon hearing this, he nearly missed a step, a miss which would have resulted in a painful landing.

"Klan? What are you doing here at this hour?"

"What is it with me and early birds today? Anyway it's already six a.m. so it won't be long before the maintenance crew come here."

"Six a.m. already? Time sure flies by... So what brings you here this early in the morning?"

"I came here to see if you had already left that's all. I'm actually surprised to see you're still here. Well you admitted to be a slow learner..."

Luckily for him, Klan didn't know that the actual reason behind Ranka's departure had something to do with the Vajra, as it wasn't all that difficult to foresee what her reaction would be to this.

But her knowing about his attempt to search for the girl still eluded his understanding.

"How did you know where I"—?

"I met Sheryl in town. In fact I just left her a while ago."

Alto couldn't contain his surprise. What was she doing in town in the middle of the night?

"What was she doing all alone in the middle of the night? She could"—

"I didn't say anything about her being alone."

"_What_"_—?_

The Pixie leader laughed upon seeing the puzzled face of her companion-in-arms. Hearing this was a more than welcomed change over her crying these past few days but Alto couldn't shake the uneasiness he was feeling over her previous statement.

"Don't worry I was just joking. You should have seen your face."

"That wasn't funny!"

"You're right it was absolutely hilarious."

She truly was Michel soul mate, even taking over his teasing habit much to the actor's dismay.

"Anyway what was she doing in town in the middle of the night?"

"She didn't tell me but I guess it's pretty safe to assume that she was waiting for you to show up."

"But she told me to"—

Following Klan's gaze, he turned around and found himself staring at his own fighter. Finally realizing what she meant confused him even more than he already was. Did she want him to leave so badly that she had to confirm it with her own eyes?

"I don't get it anymore. I don't even think I ever did to begin with."

"I can't believe you're still clueless after Michel spelled it out for you!"

"Tell me then why does she always drive me away if she likes me as she's supposed to, going with what you say?"

"She simply loves you. You're the one who should take the time to review your own feelings."

"Now it's my fault!"

"Of course it is! Ranka is always on your mind so it's no wonder Sheryl's feeling the way she is! You should at least stop being so ambiguous!"

Once more, she could read the surprise depicted on his face. However she didn't find his expression to be frustrating this time around. How this former performer could be so oblivious to the people around him continued to elude her understanding.

"You're right..."

"Of course I am. So what's your answer?"

All of a sudden, Alto began to make his way to the exit but he couldn't get past the Meltran as she blocked his way. She wasn't done with him yet.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes I do care for her now please"—

"That wasn't my question!"

"I don't know!"

"Do you love Ranka?"

"Of course I like her! She's my friend and I"—

"Do you love her?"

"No! I just"—

"Then what about Sheryl?"

"I"—

"Yes or no?"

"_Yes!_ God, you can sure be nosy when you want to! Now if you would just"—

"I'm not finished with you yet! Aren't you sure you're not just choosing her by default since Ranka isn't there anymore?"

This question stopped him in his attempt to get away.

Surely, if Klan had thought so, Sheryl had undoubtedly thought about that too. It made him sick to think he had called Michel a womanizer when he was the same to the others. He had always been aware to some extent of the girls' feelings for him but he never thought the Galactic Fairy could be this serious.

And here he was wondering why she was always pushing him away.

"I must see her."

"For once you seem to know what you have to do."

"Please I have to"—

"I'm not finished yet..."

"There couldn't be anything more than this, could it?"

His mind ordered him to make a run to the exit but he couldn't do so as his body refused to move. Somehow he knew he had to listen to the dreaded truth, Michel never told him what he had nearly done on the rooftop after all.

"There's another reason she's trying to push you away... I know it isn't right of me to be the one to say it but knowing her she will never tell you..."

"...What is it?"

"She's ill, Alto. She's infected by the V-type virus."

"V-type virus... That's why she's always been fainting these days? If you know that why"—

"There's no cure..."

"But how will she be able to sing"—

"She's dying."

It took him several seconds to recover from his initial shock. Although he didn't want to believe it, one look at the Meltran confirmed that she was telling the truth.

Michel words, Sheryl's recent behavior... It all made sense now that he knew this too and it didn't take long before he made a dash to the exit, leaving Klan to wonder if she had done the right thing.

* * *

She didn't want to admit it but she felt much better after shedding those tears with her friend earlier.

It even made it easier to catch some sleep as she had nothing but restless nights for a while now. She could finally look forward to the concert she would be giving later that night.

Looking at the clock suspended on the wall in front of her, Sheryl saw it was already way past ten a.m.

The sight that greeted her when she finally found the will to get up surprised her, proving once again how unpredictable the man in front of her could be at times.

Alto was slouched in a chair next to her bed, his disheveled head tilted downward in an angle that would surely cause him to suffer a bit.

Maybe she should provide him with one of her pillow in an attempt to lessen the strain upon his neck.

What was he even doing in this room in the first place? Didn't he leave the fleet? Had he already given up on the search?

It was then that she realized he had seen her sleeping in all her glory, probably stretched like the kanji for the word "big". Grace already told her about this sleeping habit of her in the past.

Blushing furiously, she nevertheless felt lucky since she had been too tired to undress before going to bed.

To say Alto was startled when he woke up that morning was an understatement as he found himself face to face with a dangerously close Galactic Fairy. At least he didn't seem to be the only one as she jumped back instantly when she saw him open his eyes.

He spotted a pillow on the floor as he turned his head in embarrassment. Seeing this reminded him how sweet she could be at times although it wasn't the first quality one would associate her with.

"How's your neck?"

He wasn't expecting her to be the first one to talk, having found him fast asleep in her room.

"I'm fine, thanks. What about you?"

"I slept well. I hope you took a good look because this is not the kind of service I often give."

The pilot made a mental note to never fall asleep like that again.

"I was just... worried about you."

"Well you have no more reason to be. I'm back in tip-top form!"

She really seemed to be at first glance.

"I'm glad to hear it. But I still need to talk to you."

This made her wary as she did not know what to expect from him anymore.

Seeing she wasn't going to reply, he went on.

"I met Klan and she told me she saw you."

"What did she"—

"Why did you keep me in the dark? You could have told me! Don't you trust me?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about your health of course!"

She couldn't bear to look at him in the eyes.

"How much do you know?"

"Enough to ask for an explanation regarding your recent behavior."

Both of them were now whispering as he moved closer to her.

"Why do you keep pushing me away? Can't you tell that I actually care for you?"

"I didn't want to burden you with my problems when you already have your hands full..."

Somehow this triggered something in him as he gently placed his hands on her cheeks and forced her to look into his eyes once again.

"You're not a burden... You're absolutely not... I don't even know why you would think that. I just want to help you so please... let me do it."

Their faces were only inches apart now.

"Alto...why?"

"I love you, Sheryl..."

A smile crept onto her face but it wasn't a joyful one.

"You say you love me and yet you didn't figure it out until Ranka left the fleet..."

"Sheryl"—

"You didn't come back like you promised to."

It was now his turn to look away shamefully

"Now you think you love me after hearing the whole story? Let me tell you this, Sheryl Nome doesn't need your pity."

She proceeded to get up when he caught her arm.

"I didn't say this out of pity! When will you learn to rely on others instead of always reminding everyone who"—

"Then show me I am wrong."

Alto was at a loss of words. The Galactic Fairy had asked him to show her a proof of his honesty but he didn't know what he could say at this point.

Realizing this, Sheryl broke free from his light grip and made her way to the door.

"I have to go. I'm giving a concert tonight. Besides I just had an idea for a new song, thanks to you."

"Wait! Where are you performing?"

"Everybody knows who I am, you can just ask someone in the street."

With this final line, she left a dumbfounded Alto behind her to get ready for her concert.

* * *

"Damn her...!" He was running like a madman through the city, searching for a little café he had never heard of before.

It had taken him three whole hours and a lot of his nerve to locate the place she was going to perform in.

Prior to that, he had gone to the library in order to do some research of his own concerning the V-type infection. Still he couldn't even begin to think how she could have contracted this kind of virus from what he had read.

His little search had actually raised more questions than it provided answers but he still had learnt two important facts, it was transmitted via blood or bodily fluids and there was no indication on her remaining life-span.

While the first one clearly didn't cheer him up, he had mixed feelings on the second one. He didn't know if he should be happy knowing her days weren't literally numbered or if he should be sad at the prospect of losing her at any given time.

Of course he could have gone to Klan for additional information but he needed some time alone to think for himself and ended up wandering in the city.

"I can't afford to miss it!" This thought kept replaying in his mind as he ran through the streets.

He had to prove her he meant what he had said earlier after all. Seeing her returning on the stage was the first logical step of his well thought-out plan.

Alas he was greeted by a closed door upon his arrival. Once again he had been too late for her and he could do nothing more than wait for the end of the concert.

No matter how frustrated he was at himself for arriving late, he was still grateful he could at least hear her sing once again as he was actually able to decipher the lyrics due to the lack of sound proof walls.

Sheryl was currently singing her well-known song "Diamond Crevasse" and he couldn't help but be amazed at the amount of emotion she was pouring out into this one song.

There was no doubt in his mind that she was born to be a songstress and a wonderful one, at that, as tears began to blur his vision, those lyrics were definitely too sad for his taste.

_When I was still in love with god,  
I never expected such a farewell would come.  
If I had known I could never feel your touch again,  
I would've hoped to be embraced just one last time._

He knew she had written those lyrics way before coming to Frontier but it still shocked him how accurate those were considering their current situation.

_It's long long good-bye..._

Even if he was outside he could almost picture her crying while singing at the same time.

_Goodbye, goodbye, so many times,  
I repeated the word to myself,  
Waving my hands. It's only graceful, right?  
Now, I long to be stronger._

It was already the fourth goodbye she had said in the span of one minute...

_I met you, the stars sparkled, and I was born.  
I love you, therefore I am.  
What good is waiting for a hopeless miracle?  
Through my tear-filled vision, the planet's twinkle is gone..._

Was it really no good to wait for a hopeless miracle? Maybe Frontier's medical staff would be able to find a cure if he convinced her to go to the hospital.

_I can't ever forget your warmth,  
Your kindness, and your all-encompassing hands.  
It's long long good-bye_

What was with her and all those goodbyes tonight? When did he turn into the crybaby he was right now?

_Goodbye, goodbye, my beloved.  
I came this far because you were here.  
I wasn't alone, was I?  
Now, I long for answers._

Of course, she wasn't alone. He was also there, waiting to give her the answers she was eagerly waiting for.

_Catch a falling star that looks ablazed and light a fire,  
I still want to love, and I still want to be loved.  
What good is a lone freezing body to this world?  
I long for you to finally drop your act..._

He was ready to drop his act. All that was left was for her to do the same and they could finally try to be happy in spite of all the trials awaiting them.

_What's wrong? Why can't I stop my tears from overflowing?_

A small smile formed on his lips.

"I can't stop either..."

_I met you, the stars sparkled, and I was born.  
I love you, therefore I am.  
What good is waiting for a hopeless miracle?  
Through my tear-filled vision, the planet's twinkle is gone..._

There was no good waiting for a hopeless miracle after all. Whether or not it would come wasn't important as he had already made his mind.

_If we are reincarnated and can meet again someday,  
Please be sure to find me and hold me tight,  
And make sure you never let go again.  
I wish the planet would whisper to me that I'm not alone..._

He had already made his mind and while he would make sure he'd never let go again as she had suggested he also knew he wouldn't wait for them to be reincarnated before doing so.

Only when she had finished and the audience broke into applause did he realize how small an audience it was in comparison to what she had previously experienced.

Nevertheless he could tell how mesmerized they were judging by the sheer length of the hearty applause they gave her and the fact that he did join them, earning him some puzzled glances from bypassing people.

Much to his surprise he heard her thanking her public before announcing a song he had never heard before, "Northern Cross". The orchestra accompanying her began to play a tune clearly contrasting with the lyrics the galactic fairy was singing.

_I can no longer remember the start of this journey.  
Before I realized, I was already here.  
As the seasons wore away,  
Those who sense the invisible infrared rays become lost._

Once again she proved to be worthy of her title as the raw emotion she voiced was overwhelming.

_I will probably lose them,  
These feelings that I risk for life for.  
I loved as if I were fighting to survive.  
I spent all my time building my dream.  
I wanted to land on that star.  
I wanted to fly in your sky._

Once again the lyrics she had written weren't the happiest ones he had heard but this song wasn't just a rephrasing of "Diamond Crevasse". "Northern Cross" had a more violent vibe and it was almost as if she was letting out all the frustration she had experienced.

_Wouldn't someone please caress my empty contours?  
Pushed on by the beating of in my chest, these words of love rolled out of my mouth.  
But no one answers them, and I don't know what to do.  
Chosen by destiny, the Northern Star is burning bright.  
Though it snatched you away from me into the sooty darkness,  
You continued to smile so gracefully. I loved that part of you._

Hearing the chorus made him uneasy and he began to tear up for the second time that night. Was it actually the song she had been talking about this morning?

_If you are gone, then there's no meaning left to life.  
I don't care if everyone disappeared.  
If my love is gone, then I have no more use for my heart.  
This world can just disappear._

What was she saying now? She was Sheryl Nome! Everyone's favorite Galactic Fairy!

_I was always in pain.  
I would risk my life for that first time we met.  
I dreamt as if I were struggling to breathe.  
I reached my hands out blindly.  
I wanted to listen to your heartbeat.  
I wanted to build a rainbow with you._

Here she was using the past tense again. Why did she write such lyrics? Deep down he hoped it wasn't too late already...

_Wouldn't someone please embrace me tightly with daybreak's sentimentality.  
Tears of love that scatter as they are repelled by orbits of dreams will do.  
Their painful flow is just fine for me.  
Called back by destiny, the Northern Star is crying.  
If I have to survive in this labyrinth anyway,  
I want to die loving you to my last breath._

All this talk of dying was beginning to unsettle him but it also made him sure that he couldn't leave things as they were at this very moment. Not when she was crying her heart out like she had been for three minutes now.

_And it will begin,  
The finale I will risk my life for.  
I loved as if I were fighting to survive.  
I kicked on dreams on until they are crumpled.  
I wanted to end on that star.  
I wanted to bloom in your sky._

"You have already invaded my sky..."

How was he supposed to focus on it now that she had done so?

_Wouldn't someone please caress my empty contours?  
The motions of time have erased away  
The words of love that could not be saved.  
So please, give me your answer one more time.  
Chosen by destiny, the Northern Star is burning bright.  
Though it snatched you away from me into the sooty darkness,  
You continued to smile so gracefully. I loved that part of you._

"My answer... One more time..."

_Though it snatched you away from me into the sooty darkness,  
You continued to smile so gracefully.__I loved that part of you._

The audience broke into a hearty applause and he could do nothing else than joining them once again.

He cursed at himself for his apparent lack of forethought seeing as he had forgotten to bring tissues with him. Having no other alternatives left, he used one of the paper-sheet he was always carrying with him and this strange habit of his proved to be useful once more.

"You were right all along, Michel..."

Once more, his friend's words proved to be right on the mark, confirming how sharp he was regarding people's feelings.

He was right when he told him how much Sheryl looked out for him, he was also right when he mentioned how he would have regretted it for the rest of his life had he not bothered to search for the songstress... He was finally right when he kept calling him "princess" as he had been acting just like one for the past ten minutes, much to his disarray.

Hearing Sheryl bid farewell to the audience brought him back to his senses and he readied himself for his last trial of the night.

* * *

Even though he was kind and funny in an odd way, Sheryl had already dismissed her new manager as she told him she needed some time alone to think about a personal matter. She couldn't help but chuckle at the sheer irony since he had been Ranka's former manager. Despite his lack of presence, he sure had a knack to find talented singers.

Following this trail of thoughts, she didn't notice the man that was waiting for her and bumped into him.

Cursing inwardly at her lack of awareness, she braced herself for the painful landing. Much to her surprise it never came as the man caught her in his arms.

The flushed songstress quickly got on her feet and apologized to the gentleman. It was then that she took notice of his appearance, immediately recognizing the long ponytail she saw.

"…Alto?"

"It was a wonderful concert. You impressed me."

"I didn't know you were such a fan of mine."

She leaned closer to take a better look at his face.

"You've been crying?"

The tables were turned around as it was the pilot's turn to blush.

"No! Of course I wasn't!"

He was looking frantically around him in search of an explanation.

"I was just...! Anyway what do you plan to do?"

"You mean right now? I was planning to take a walk before going back home."

His lucky streak didn't seem it would end soon after all.

"Well... Would you like to eat in a nearby restaurant before heading home?"

"It's already late and I'm kind of tired so I'll pass for tonight. But you can"—

"I'm not that hungry either actually... Do you mind if I tag along?"

Maybe he had spoken too soon.

* * *

It had almost been two hours since they had left and neither seemed to be willing to break the silence.

However one of them had to be the first to speak if he wanted to reach his goal and there was no way he could afford to postpone his plan.

Seeing it was useless to wait any longer, Alto grabbed Sheryl's hand in his own in a way that didn't seem so out of character considering what he had done recently.

"Alto? What are you doing all of a sudden?"

Once again he had managed to take her by surprise.

"There's something I wanted to give you."

He left a little box in her hand and waited for her to open it. She had mixed feelings upon seeing the object in her hand but she complied with his silent wish and opened it, revealing a lone earring that vaguely looked like the one she had lost.

"An earring?"

"I thought you could use a replacement for the one I lost..."

"Only one? I didn't know you were so poor Mr. Pilot."

"Huh? I can go fetch the matching one if you want me to but I thought"—

Hearing him panicking over this trivial matter made her giggle thus throwing the poor man into further confusion.

"Excuse me, but I'm serious here!"

"That's what makes it so funny! You should see your face."

"_A-Anyway!_ Do you like it or not?"

"It's not quite the same nor does it seem as expensive"—

"_You_"—!

"But I think it will do just fine. Thank you, Alto."

"I don't even know if I should be happy or not now..."

That reply sent her in another giggling fit and he couldn't help smiling at the sight before him.

It had been so long since he had heard her like this and only now did he realize how he had missed that side of her.

Looking at the time he saw he still had four hours left until he could actually move to the last part of his plan.

"Do you have to work today?"

"The amount of work I currently have is nowhere near what I had to do before. I guess I can afford to take the day off."

Despite all he had thought earlier, luck really was on his side that night and he couldn't wish for more as he led her through the city.

It was a real shame how a good part of the city was now in ruins but that didn't stop the two young adults to spend the night outside talking about unimportant matters and simply enjoying each other's company.

"We should head back home."

"You're right it's almost time for"—

"I've got one last thing I want to show you."

He didn't wait for her answer and took her hand before leading her to the Saotome mansion.

Upon their arrival he immediately disappeared, leaving a puzzled Sheryl behind him.

It wasn't long before he came back wearing his Ex-Gear.

"What are you planning to do with"—

The songstress couldn't finish her sentence as he picked her up in his arms and the two of them took off.

"Alto! What do you think you're doing?"

He didn't bother to answer her but she wasn't going to give up that easily.

"Alto! Alto-hime! Saotome Al"—

"Last time, we saw a sunset while flying, just like this..."

"Yes"—

"This time I wanted to show you a sunrise."

She remained silent for a moment, not knowing what to think of it. It was _**so**_ lame and yet it felt so sweet... Several seconds had already passed when she spoke again, her voice no more than a soft whisper.

"What a cheesy line..."

"You said something?"

"What an unbelievable cheesy line, especially coming from you!"

"Well, excuse me! At least it was my own personal pick-up line!"

"No wonder you don't have a girlfriend!"

"Look."

The sight before her was a mesmerizing one as the sun hologram rose in the artificial sky, and thus began illuminating the remnants of the city below them.

Looking down at the woman in his arms, Alto couldn't help but smile at the sight of her bright expression.

"You wanted an answer right?"

"An answer?"

"You said so in your song. That's why I'll give you one right here. But first I'll tell you something. There's enough power left in this Ex-Gear to last another hour."

She couldn't follow his reasoning anymore.

"What does it have to do with us?"

"You'll understand soon enough."

"Stop being s"—

"I love you, Sheryl."

It wasn't the first time he said that and yet she got all flustered hearing it.

"We already talked about it yesterday!"

"You asked me to prove you I was honest! That's what I'm doing!"

"I don't see how it is any different from"—

He interrupted her by claiming her lips with his own in an almost perfect reversal of their first kiss.

However Sheryl wasn't going to risk an infection to her beloved "princess" and ended the kiss abruptly.

"What are you doing! Are you plain stupid?"

"Stop moving like this! Are you so eager to die?"

"You're the one who kissed me without even knowing the consequences!"

"I do know them! I know it can be transmitted by bodily fluids! I know there is no cure! I know you can die at any time! And you know what? I don't care at all because I know what I feel for you!"

He was looking right into her eyes by now.

"I want you to let me stay by your side."

Her tear-filled vision was preventing her from seeing the mixed feelings that flashed across his eyes but she could still feel his determination.

"You don't even know me... My name, my whole... They're all lies!

"The time we spent together was real! Your songs are real! Sheryl Nome isn't your real name? It doesn't matter! Perhaps I can't do a thing about your first name but I can still give you a new surname!"

"_Sniff._ You're planning to adopt me?"

"_Of course not!_ I know you perfectly understood what I meant!"

"Do you realize how selfish you are? Asking me to transmit you a terminal disease on my own will! Even going as far as to propose like this? You're cruel!"

"Just say yes."

She was openly crying now but he knew he had to go on if he wanted her to finally give in to his selfish demand.

"You know I can't"—

"Remember what I told you about the power we had left?"

"You're threatening me? Surely you could have found some other way to say it! You're an actor after all!"

"And that's exactly why I'm resorting to such methods! I'm not acting right now! I'm being serious!"

"Alto..."

"Just say yes."

"Al"—

"Please let me stay by your side, Sheryl..."

Seeing he was getting nowhere he tried another approach.

"Michel said it... If you really care about someone you'd give up your life for them."

"I don't think he meant contracting some disease when he said that..."

"That's too bad then, because that's what I understood. I've always been kind of dense when it comes to these matters anyway."

They were nearing the end of their power supply and it wouldn't be long before they had to make their descent. In the end she didn't give in, she sure was a fierce opponent.

"You're so selfish..."

"Isn't love literally selfish to begin with? To love and to be loved... That's what you yearn for right?"

"Alto..."

He couldn't wait any longer.

"Seems like you win once again, Sheryl. Time's up..."

As he began to make their descent she said something he wasn't expecting to hear anymore.

"I'll get to be the one on top."

On second-thought that was rather unexpected.

" What are you"—

"I'll get to be the one on top! Whether you agree or not!"

"Sheryl...!"

"Yes I'll give into your selfish demand! But you have to promise me you will never leave me alone! Promise me you won't die like Michel! Promise me you'll outlive me!"

Although her last wish wasn't one he was glad to hear, he could still agree with the first two.

"I promise you that I'll never leave you! And when this will be all over I'll resign from the army."

"But what about the sky?"

She wondered if he was even aware how ashamed she would feel if he were to give up his dream because of her.

Fortunately for the galactic songstress the pilot seemed to have thought for once before saying that and his final answer made her initiate their third kiss on her own will.

"...You have already invaded my sky."


	2. Chapter 2

_A.N:__Hi everyone! I'm doing my best to get over the Macross Frontier withdrawal symptom TT so here's the continuation of the story. I tried my best to follow the anime timeline in spite of my first chapter (it's harder to do now that we all saw what happen)._

_I must apologize for turning such a mecha fest (episodes 24 and 25 were superb as always) into Shoujo Frontier but there's absolutely no way I would be able to retranscribe the sheer awesomeness of those action scenes._

_I must apologize too for the OOCness and not being able to write nice romantic scenes (Fortunately SkullFaerie is here to spread AruSheri love!)._

_Anyway many thanks to my first reviewers (Amir-015, delicate-Flower, redskyy, Mana10 and gppr), to all the readers and to the writers spreading Macross Frontier love._

**BETA-ED - 3/1/11 **(by steshin)

* * *

Their flight over, the two young adults made their way back to the Saotome household where they would finally be able to catch some well-needed rest.

The way back home was mostly silent but it was a pleasant one this time around as both just wanted to enjoy each other's company.

Upon arrival both of them stopped in their tracks, neither really willing to let go of the other's hand. Albeit reluctantly at first, Alto released his fairy's hand and leaned in an attempt to claim those lips he seemed to be so fond of recently.

However she didn't let him do as he pleased as she stopped him by putting a finger on his lips.

"…Sheryl?"

"What do you think you're doing? After all you've put me through do you really think I will let you off the hook like this?"

A blush crept onto the pilot's face upon hearing this: neither could he deny she was right nor did he want to. In fact he was quite relieved to see that she didn't try to drive him away as she had for the past days.

He carried her like the queen she was and they both stepped in the room. Alto didn't know if he had to thank his military training or if she was this light to begin with as he put her on her bed.

It wasn't long before he joined her and they both were locked in a tender embrace.

Before drifting to sleep, Alto could hear a muffled "thank you" from his beloved to which he responded by pulling her even closer to him.

* * *

It was already past lunch time when Yasaburo knocked on the sliding door.

"Sheryl-san? You have a visit."

The lack of response prompted him to knock again.

"Sheryl-san? Are you in there?"

Hearing no reply, the performer decided to step in without waiting for the permission to come in. For all he knew the songstress could have been in need of assistance since she tended to faint a lot these days.

The sight that greeted him while surprising managed to bring a smile to his face.

Here he was staring at the two lovers snuggled up against each other with a blanket wrapped around them, a scene one could easily misinterpret. However a quick scanning of his surroundings proved him that probably nothing much happened as there weren't much clothes scattered around except for a jacket.

Upon noticing Alto's peaceful sleeping face he couldn't help but acknowledge how much he the long-haired boy had grown, from the teenager running away from his father to the man willing to put his pride aside and stay in the house he vowed to never return to, all for the sake of the woman sharing the bed.

As much as he wanted to let them be, he had to wake them up and thus proceeded to do so by shaking the pilot first. It didn't take long before this method elicited some shifting and a groan from the young man.

"You could have found another way to wake me up don't you think Sher-"

Alto found himself staring at his brother's face.

"Ni-san!"

His sudden outburst woke up the woman sleeping next to him and she muttered his name as she reluctantly stirred from slumber. She couldn't help a little cry as it was her turn to see the intruder.

"Good afternoon, Alto-san, Sheryl-san."

"What are you doing here, Ni-san! Get out!"

Seeing the pilot so easily flustered despite his kabuki past record amused Yasaburo and he would have been more than prone to further teasing if he had the time.

"Sheryl-san, you have some visitors."

"A visit? For me?" She couldn't think of anyone who would come to see her here.

"They seem to be government officials"

Both lovers shared puzzled looks upon hearing this.

"Why would they want to se me?"

"I don't know they didn't say anything. You should get ready; they're waiting at the entrance"

Having said what he had to, the kabuki actor exited the room leaving behind two surprised people.

* * *

He planned to go with her but he hadn't been allowed to as he was summoned to the Quarter in the meantime.

The news of their impending assimilation into NUNS wasn't well received by the SMS crew and he couldn't help but feel uneasy at the prospect of being a regular soldier as well as being given his own squadron without even knowing the whereabouts of his squad leader first.

He could understand however the need to do so considering Frontier's shape since the last attack. Its environmental balance was already at a point where self-restoration proved to be difficult and they had to give up several islands that were damaged beyond repair.

It wasn't long before he reached his home and made his way to the room they slept in this morning. He was greeted by a staggering songstress.

"Sheryl!"

Seeing her consciousness fading away, Alto rushed to her to prevent her fall.

Successfully catching her in his arms, he carried the feverish woman to the bed before taking care of her the best he could.

* * *

It was already night-time when the galactic fairy came to her senses. Her memory was still hazy as she scanned her surroundings in an attempt to remember how she ended in bed.

It took her several seconds in the dark but she managed to recognize the room she was in and when she finally did she remembered what took place earlier that day: how she waited for him after the meeting she had with his friend Luca and the new president, drifting out of consciousness as she finally saw him.

She then realised she wasn't wearing the same outfit she had been earlier and blushed at the thought of her favourite pilot undressing her, seeing her naked body in all its glory without her even being aware of it. A rapid double-check proved her wrong however as she was still wearing the same undergarments: she could clearly picture his embarrassed self struggling to put her into this more comfortable yukata, thus bringing a smile to her face.

The sound of an infamous cell-phone vibrating shook her from her reverie and she got up upon noticing the man who was sitting on the veranda, bathed in the artificial moonlight.

He didn't bother to check his message even though it was being sent by SMS. Alto immediately turned off his phone as soon as he heard some noise coming from the room she was resting in.

The most important matter at hand being his songstress' health, the former performer asked her the first question that crossed his mind as he slightly opened the door.

"Are you all right now?"

Despite its relative steadiness and all those years of practicing the mighty art of kabuki, Sheryl could still hear the anxiousness in his voice.

"Thanks to you I'm feeling better now"

She heard him sigh in relief at those words.

"May I come in?"

This second question of his was almost the same as if he were begging to be teased and the former galactic fairy did not miss this chance to make fun of her princess.

"What are you being so shy for all of a sudden? You already saw it all after all."

Her reply left him speechless and she was sure she could see his face literally glowing from all the blushing. The boldness he had displayed the day before made the scene all the more funnier as the resolute pilot had been replaced with an embarrassed young man looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

"I swear I didn't do anything beside-"

Soft giggles interrupted him before he could finish his sentence and embarrass himself further. He couldn't deny he was glad though to hear those as he stepped in the room.

"You really worried me there you know… And here you are making fun of me."

"I'm sorry, it was too tempting, you're so easy to tease after all."

Alto took a seat beside her while he waited for her to calm down. No matter how sweet those sounds were to his ears, the slight irritation at being laughed at prevented him from pursuing their talk until she stopped.

"So what did they want to talk about?"

There was a lot he could have said but this particular question had been nagging his mind all day long. What could the new president possibly want from this young woman?

"What about you? Why did SMS summon you for?"

Seeing her immediately shifting her gaze and trying to change the subject made him wary but instead of pushing the matter he decided to be the first to provide an answer.

"SMS is going to be disbanded and integrated by the NUNS…"

"But you're going to be in the real military then!"

As grateful for her concern as he was he couldn't stand the worried look she was giving him and thus tried his best to ease her fear, taking hold of her hands.

"It's not that different from our actual situation, there's no need to worry."

He was glad that his attempt proved to be partially successful as she calmed down. However their conversation was far from over and he knew he had to ask the dreaded question once again if he wanted to learn what had been said during their meeting.

"Now that you know my side of the story…"

"Alto-"

"What did they want from you?"

Fully knowing she couldn't avoid giving him an answer any longer, Sheryl took a deep breath and steeled herself for the upcoming exchange between them. Her beloved pilot had proved to be quite unpredictable recently and she didn't know how vocal he would be after hearing what she was about to say but she was sure he wasn't going to be pleased.

"The president… and your friend Luca… We talked about my disease."

How her illness was important to those people during this crisis still eluded him but he could already tell he didn't like the way it was going.

Seeing how he remained silent, the songstress went on.

"It seems that since it's reached its terminal stage, it gives me the same ability as Ranka-chan."

"Wait, terminal st-"

Even though she knew she shouldn't, the former galactic fairy felt warm inside when she heard this.

"Did you actually hear the most important part?"

"Sheryl… Don't tell me-"

"Don't worry, it seems she was born with those abilities, she's not-"

Alto failed to keep his cool this time, no matter how hard he tried to.

"It's not about Ranka! You know damn well what I was talking about!"

She was taken aback by this sudden outburst and it took her several seconds to find her voice again.

"Alto, I-"

"Don't tell me they asked you to sing in her stead!"

How they could ask a young woman on the verge of death to shoulder such responsibilities was beyond him. He knew Luca was willing to go to as far as using Ranka as a decoy to protect the girl he loved, but he never imagined his friend would resort to using a dying woman. While he had let him use Ranka to protect the fleet, he wasn't going to let him use the galactic fairy to replace the former songstress of hope.

"There's no way you-"

However, no matter how much he despised the idea, the quiet reply that followed reminded him that the decision was ultimately up to her.

"I already said I will do it."

To say the former kabuki actor was shocked was an understatement and it didn't take long before his initial surprised look turned into a horrified one.

"You… What?"

"I accepted…"

Sheryl winced as the pilot tightened his grip on her hands. Upon noticing this he immediately withdrew his hands leaving her longing for their warmth.

"Why should you sing for them? They didn't even care when they had their songstress of hope! Why should you care for them now?"

It was her turn to be shocked.

"Do you even know what you're saying?"

"You don't have to sing! I'll protect the fleet, so you can just rest and-"

"I will sing! I want to sing! It's the only proof I've ever existed!"

Seeing the tears brimming in the corner of her eyes was all the more painful as he knew he was the one responsible for this. Taking hold of her hands again he leaned closer and rested his forehead on hers before speaking, his voice no more than a mere whisper.

"…What about us? …Me?"

She held his pained gaze as she whispered back.

"Everybody deserves hope. Everyone lost so much in the last attack…"

As she said that, images of people praying for their lost relatives flashed through her mind. Whether it was a child crying for his parents or the other way around, a lover distraught at the loss of the significant one, she wanted to soothe their minds. She immediately thought of her Meltran friend who was still mourning for her loved one.

"The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few..."

His heart sank at hearing this and he broke eye contact with her as he could no longer look her straight in the eyes.

"It's the right thing to do, isn't it…?"

The lack of proper reply prompted her to go on.

"I gave into your selfish demand last time… Now it's your turn to do so, Alto…"

The pilot returned her gaze once more, wondering why she was so keen on making it hard for him but he couldn't deny he had been the first to use such a method.

"Do you enjoy torturing me so much?"

Her rosy lips curved into a sad smile.

"Now we're even…"

Sighing in defeat, Alto held his fairy as close as he could. He nuzzled his face in the crook of her slender neck, taking the time to enjoy her fragrance before he finally mumbled an answer.

"Fine… I'll respect your decision… even if I don't like it…"

Sheryl didn't know whether if it was the way he said it, or simply his warm breath against her bare skin, nevertheless his reply sent a shiver down her spine and she couldn't hold back the onset of tears anymore as she realized how much she longed for that moment to last forever.

It took him one instant to shatter her resolve and replace it with dread regarding her impending doom.

"Alto… I'm scared…"

"I already told you I'll be there for you."

He withdrew his face to gaze into her two pools of azure brimming with crystal tears, burning all the details of her mesmerizing face into his mind. As he brought his hand to cup the songstress cheek, the former kabuki actor couldn't resist the urge to whip her tears away with his thumb.

"…Alto, give me the courage to keep on singing."

Her soft plea was met with an equally soft kiss and no matter how desperate this turn of events seemed to be, she completely lost herself into it. His intoxicating taste didn't help her to maintain what little sanity she had left.

Saying she was pleasantly surprised when she felt her favourite princess' tongue against her bottom lip was an understatement and she wrapped her arms around his neck to keep her balance as she parted her lips, allowing him to deepen the kiss.

Unfortunately for the both of them this moment of pure bliss came to a halt when one of the pilot's hands gently brushed against her thigh. The young woman unwillingly stiffened at his touch, causing him to pull away.

"Sheryl, I-"

"I'm sorry Alto… I can't do it…"

He took hold of her hands before leaning closer once more.

"Sheryl, I already told you I didn't mind."

She remembered how she wanted to drive him away when she first learned of her disease from her former manager. The first thought to cross her mind was about him and how she should spare him from the pain of losing a friend the same way he had lost his dear mother.

But he kept pushing, even managing to tear her walls down, and here she was now, almost giving into this guilty pleasure. He had made her say she would give him what he wanted but she still couldn't bring herself to actually do it.

Recalling what had been said during the meeting with the President and Alto's friend didn't help either. Even though she had been told there was a cure for the early stage of the illness, giving herself to him still felt wrong under those circumstances.

At least kisses were still safe and she was silently thankful for that.

"Alto…"

A ringing phone interrupted her but his owner didn't even bother to answer the call. In fact he seemed to be totally oblivious to it as his steady gaze remained on her. Not being able to hold it anymore she broke eye contact to direct her attention on the phone in an attempt to make him shift his focus to the small device.

"You should answer, it could be important"

"They can wait."

"Alto!"

"Fine!"

He threw his arms in the air in frustration before picking the offending object. Whoever made the call was in for a pleasant time as the blue-haired young man did not waste time to express his displeasure.

"I swear you better have a good reason to disturb me right-!"

Sheryl thought the conversation would already be over with such an opening statement but Alto's face convinced her otherwise when she saw the inner turmoil flashing through his eyes.

"They what…?"

The talk didn't last long after that and once it was over she couldn't help but ask

"What's wrong?"

"The SMS quarter is deserting the fleet…"

* * *

The fight had been quick and the quarter managed to safely fold out in the end.

Alto could still remember his heated exchange with his former squad leader about a man's duty and while he could understand his desire to protect the two most important women of his life he certainly couldn't condone this betrayal of the fleet, especially when Frontier was such in a bad shape.

After spotting the young heir of the LAI industries, the former Skull-4 finally climbed out of his disabled fighter and made his way towards him. The short boy would make a perfect outlet for his frustration and he had some issues with him after all.

"Luca!"

"Alto-senpai! Thank you for-"

"You little…! How could you ask her that! You know well she can't possibly do it!"

Realizing what the long-haired man was talking about, the younger pilot averted his gaze.

"You used Ranka and now you want to use her too? I never thought you were so-"

"We don't have a choice! This is all for Frontier's sake, why can't you understand that?"

Once again Alto's anger flared up and he grabbed his former friend's collar.

"Protecting Frontier, that's NUNS' job, ours! Not hers!"

The boy stared back at him, the resolve flashing through his unwavering eyes taking him aback.

"I will do anything to ensure Nanase-san's safety. Besides Sheryl-san already said she would do it!"

It pained him to admit it but even Luca was more of a man than he had ever been according to Ozma's definition. The two men flied to protect their dearest ones but no amount of flying could free his fairy from her impending doom.

Frustrated at the resolute boy but even more so at himself, he released him before making his way to the exit of the hangar, not even bothering to acknowledge any of the weird looks he earned after such a display.

* * *

Ever since her beloved pilot had left to intercept the rogue ship, Sheryl spent her evening gazing upwards at the dark sky as she was unable to go to sleep without being assured of his safety first.

Knowing that his foes this time around were his former allies did not ease her fear and she could only hope that their encounter wouldn't turn into a meaningless bloodbath as they certainly could do without the situation getting worse than it already was.

The songstress didn't know if her shivering was due to the actual chilliness of the night resulting from Frontier lack of resources or the loneliness she experienced without him by her side.

One thing she knew for sure though was that she should avoid catching a cold considering her already precarious health and thus decided to go back in her room, wasting no time to wrap a blanket around her cold body.

It didn't take long for her gaze to finally fall upon a photograph mounted on a simple wooden frame. The picture showed a long-haired boy clinging to his mother's yukata.

Sheryl had already noticed that photograph when she had first moved in this room but no matter how many times she saw it, she was still amazed by the sheer happiness exuding from the picture.

Seeing this prompted the young woman to wonder how wonderful it probably felt to have a loving mother. No matter how sad it was, the songstress had to admit it was a foreign feeling to her as she never had any relatives as far as she could remember.

However now that she had witnessed how much his mother's death affected him, she wondered if she should consider herself lucky to have been spared from the pain of losing a parent.

Deeming she had already shed enough tears for now, Sheryl decided to focus on a more pleasant matter. Her lips curved upwards in a tender smile upon noticing how carefree the young boy looked. It was an expression she longed to see but he had yet to display in front of her.

She could remember having caught a glimpse of this side of him during their trip to Galia IV and his sheer excitement at being able to fly in a real sky but this moment had been short-lived.

The noise coming from the entrance and the light footsteps that followed shook Sheryl from her reverie and she immediately went to see him.

The sight that greeted her clearly wasn't what she was hoping for after spending the last minutes looking at his happy young self. The pilot was sitting directly on the floor with his back turned to her, his head buried in his hands in an attempt to muffle his sobs.

Alto was still trying to regain his composure when he felt a pair of arms gently circling him from behind. Surprised at the sudden contact, he stiffened at first before relaxing upon feeling his fairy's soft body pressing against his back.

"You were already awake?"

Feeling her nod against his back, the young man tried his best to calm himself but to no avail as he failed to hold back the new onset of tears.

"Why did it turn like this? Ranka, SMS… How could they leave the fleet?"

As he went on with venting his frustration, he could feel her arms tightening around his waist.

"... Michel, Klan... Nanase too... When did it go so wrong?"

There was no one he could turn to anymore except the woman comforting him but he knew that wouldn't last.

"Even you-"

While he caught himself before saying something that would hurt her deeply, he had no doubt he had already said too much with those two words.

"I'm sorry I didn't want to-"

She shushed him before he could finish his sentence and turned him around as she helped him up.

Alto was taken aback when he saw her tears but he didn't have time to say anything as she pressed her lips against his in a passionate yet chaste kiss.

While their lips were still locked together, Sheryl led him to their room. She pulled back before she gently laid him down on the bed.

Climbing on top of him, she leaned in for another kiss. Gliding her quivering lips over his as tenderly as she could, she put a trembling hand under his shirt as their tears kept mingling together.

She tried to appear to be in control but failed miserably. Despite all the teasing she was doing on stage she knew she was at least as inexperienced as him when it came to physical contacts.

Sensing the songstress hesitation, the former kabuki actor broke the kiss thus effectively preventing her from going any further.

"Sheryl…"

Looking directly into his eyes, Sheryl could see his concern and she silently thanked him.

But even more so than his concern, she could discern the lust in his eyes amidst the tears and she had no doubt he could see it in hers as well.

Sheryl closed her eyes and took a deep breath as thoughts of his mother crossed her mind. She wanted to apologize to her for making him suffer. She also wanted to apologize for what she was about to do to the son Saotome Miyo loved so much.

Opening her eyes once again she finally managed to voice her first sentence since he had returned.

"Alto… Let me do this for you…"

He did nothing except reaching for her hand and intertwining their fingers.

It was all the approval she needed before she dove in for another kiss.

* * *

Sheryl had wanted to soothe his pain by giving her lover what she had denied him before he left the house, the bloodstain on the mattress being the reminder of the intimacy they shared just a moment ago.

Deep down she knew they had crossed a line they shouldn't have but she couldn't find the strength to break the embrace they were both locked in.

Her resting on top of him didn't seem to bother Alto as he was showing no sign of letting go. Both of them just enjoyed the other's presence as they rested in silence, their affection showing through their small gestures.

Sheryl was busy burning all the details of his handsome face in her mind while he kept stroking her back, occasionally running his hand through her magnificent hair.

Upon closer inspection she noticed something she never had before.

"You have pierced ears?"

Alto winced slightly at the painful memory...

"The world of kabuki is a harsh one indeed."

"What was that?"

"Humor?"

She couldn't help but smile at his lame attempt at lightening the mood. How she wished this moment would last forever…

However she still had an important matter to discuss with him now that they had done it.

"Alto… I have my weekly check-up scheduled tomorrow…You're coming with me to the hospital…"

"Of course I am."

The young woman sighed before she went on to explain what she meant.

"You'll have to ask your friend for the serum."

The puzzled look he was giving her proved he really had no idea what she meant in the first place. She couldn't decide if she should be angry at his recklessness or happy knowing he was willing to go that far for her.

"There's a serum for the earlier stages of the infection."

Finally realizing what she was talking about, he tried to tell her she shouldn't worry about that but he was hushed by a soft finger on his lips.

"Did you really think… I would have gone so far if there wasn't?"

Once again Sheryl's vision blurred upon noticing the pained look in his eyes. Knowing she would be unable to suppress her tears, the songstress nuzzled her face in his chest to hide them but to no avail as she immediately felt him tightening his arms around her.

Alto knew how hard it already was for the woman in his arms so he settled for a kiss on the top of her head instead of scolding her for ruining the mood, enjoying her warmth.

"Can we stay like this tonight?"

She nodded against his chest, his heartbeat lulling her to sleep. It didn't take long before the young man felt the former galactic fairy's breath evened out. Her heart pounding against his had a soothing effect and he was relieved to actually be able to feel her weight for he knew deep down that such moments were already limited in their case.

Before he drifted to sleep he remembered one more time the verbal exchange he had with his former squad leader about protecting what was the most important to him: if no amount of flying was going to save his beloved songstress, he made the silent oath to do his best to protect the fleet and the people she was willing to give her life for.

Their union that night had been a sorrowful one as her infection had undoubtedly plagued what should have been a moment of pure bliss. One could also argue that the intimacy they had shared was just a mere result of the circumstances they were faced with and that person would probably be right.

Nevertheless none of them cared how they ended sharing the same bed that night as they both found solace in each other's arms.

* * *

The holographic sun was already high in the artificial sky when Alto woke up.

The heaviness on his chest surprised him at first but he calmed down as soon as he saw his lover's disheveled head and he couldn't help but smile upon noticing how peaceful she looked. It was only now that he realized she was wearing the earring he had given her.

"Strawberry pie…"

He tried to stay still lest he would wake her up but no matter how much he wanted to let her rest he couldn't resist the slight urge to laugh, causing her to stir.

"Mmhhh… Give it back Alto…."

No amount of training would have been sufficient for him to be able to retain his composure after hearing her second line of the day.

He had known her for some time now and he had seen many other sides of her recently but her ability to surprise him continually amazed him. Never did he expect the great Sheryl Nome to sleep-talk.

After making a mental note to use this new piece of information to his benefit in the near future, Alto proceeded to wake the songstress with a gentle kiss on the forehead first.

When Sheryl opened her eyes this morning she was greeted by a soft pair of lips claiming hers. This gesture was followed by some more kisses and two hands rubbing her back.

She couldn't find words suitable to express how she felt being woken up this way and she didn't waste much time before returning the favor with a kiss of her own.

Both of them were gasping for air by the time they ended and several minutes passed before he spoke for the first time.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes, thanks to you… What about you?"

"I think I could get used to it, waking up like that… I like it."

Her lips curved upwards in a sweet smile that reached her eyes as she was truly delighted to hear his thoughts perfectly mirroring hers.

They would have spent the day like this if it hadn't been for Sheryl's scheduled visit to the hospital.

"Maybe we should get up."

The fairy was logically the first to climb out of the bed, feeling chilly as soon as she did. Her shivering didn't last long though as the heat in her cheeks rose significantly when she saw the mattress.

Alto followed her gaze upon seeing her embarrassment. It was his turn to blush furiously.

"I… I guess I'll have to wash it…"

"Well… It's my fault too… I'll help-"

"You should just go get ready…"

Sheryl was grateful for his thoughtfulness as she couldn't imagine how she would be able to bear the humiliation if someone spotted her doing the cleaning. She had been abusing their hospitality for several days after all.

"Thank you Alto…"

Her whisper went unheard though as he was already lost in thought, wondering how he would be able to overcome the trial awaiting him.

* * *

Alto never thought the day he would be ashamed at his manliness would come. In fact he tended to jump at any chances to prove he was not the girly man a lot of people thought he was upon first seeing him.

He changed his mind when one of his father's pupils stumbled upon him while he was busy cleaning the stains on the mattress.

"Well…I guess it'll have to do…"

He glanced sheepishly at the offending object he had hung out to dry.

"Now that's a surprise coming from you, Alto-san."

It took several seconds for Alto's heart rate to return to normal after jumping from the unexpected sound of his foster brother's voice.

"I nearly had a heart attack!"

"It seems you had a great time."

Alto felt the heat rising in cheeks once more but he had already lost count of how many times he had blushed since he got up.

"You should have washed those tears stains though"

His eyes widened upon realizing what his foster brother meant.

He really should have washed his face before coming here.

* * *

Sheryl had just finished getting dressed when she went searching for her princess. It didn't take her long to actually find him as she heard him trying to explain himself before he was cut short by Yasaburo.

"So you ditched your pilot role for Sheryl-san's ideal boyfriend one."

In a true soap opera fashion, she had chosen the wrong moment to stumble upon their conversation. She still remained to listen since it concerned their relationship.

"I'm not acting!"

She was relieved to hear him blurt that out and even if she couldn't see him she had no difficulty to picture his face—she had studied it well last night after all.

"It's not like you Alto-san... Sleeping with a woman you never acknowledged before, crying shamelessly in front of someone…"

Seeing no reply coming from the man standing before him, Yasaburo went on.

"I heard she was terminally ill and I can understand why you did that… However do you really believe a relationship born out of pity to be a healthy one? Do you really think it is possible to sustain such a relationship over time?"

"Shut up!"

His interjection didn't do him any good as his foster brother just ignored it.

"You never tried to understand what your father went through when your mother died and yet you blamed him for all these years, going as far as running away from home and enlisting into the army. However right now you're just following in the footsteps-"

"Stop it!"

"-of the man you ran away from. Alto-san, are you really prepared to suffer the same way your father had?"

Feeling she couldn't bear it anymore, Sheryl made her way back to the room they had shared last night and she was already out of earshot when Alto finally spoke.

"You can call it acting if you want, I don't care… You can say our relationship is a result of the recent events… But I won't let you write it off as mere pity!"

He took a deep breath before resuming his talk.

"We probably should have waited before going so far… But she… We don't have time…"

There was much he wanted to say such as how he didn't care if he had to act out of character if that's what it would take for her to be happy. He could have added that he knew such a mindset wasn't a suitable one for a relationship but he couldn't care less at this point in time as all he wanted was to stay by her side until the end.

However he had no strength to spare for a meaningless argument with his foster brother and he wanted nothing more than go back to his lover's side. Before hurrying back to their room, he spoke one last time as he passed past the man standing in the doorway.

"…There's one thing I agree with you on…I never understood him until now."

* * *

The tears wouldn't stop coming but Sheryl ignored them as she was busy packing her stuff while scolding herself for being such a weakling.

She had chosen to live on as Sheryl, self-proclaimed songstress of despair now turned into the new songstress of hope, and yet she had failed in providing said hope to the one that matter the most in her eyes.

Instead of thinking of his well-being first as she initially did, she had indulged in his kindness, making the both of them suffer in the process. His brother was right when he said their relationship wasn't a healthy one as it all came down to her illness after all.

She was sorting through her wardrobe when her gaze fell on a certain set of clothes she had treasured ever since. As she went on reminiscing about their first date, she unconsciously reached for her new earring.

The sound of his footsteps broke her out of her daze and she hastily put on her sunglasses in a desperate attempt to hide her red eyes.

Alto knew something wasn't right when he entered the room as she didn't even acknowledge his presence and kept on packing.

"Sheryl, what are you doing?"

Seeing how she ignored him and kept her back to him, Alto made his way into the room and grabbed her shoulders. The songstress resisted at first but he eventually managed to turn her around.

He wasted no time wondering why she would wear a pair of sunglasses into the house and he proceeded to remove them to get a clear view of her face.

"Please don't-!"

It was her turn to be ignored as he didn't comply with her plea.

"You're crying…?"

"Congratulations for noticing the obvious! If you weren't there to tell me I wouldn't have noticed!"

Deciding to let her sarcastic remark slide, he renewed his first question.

"What are you doing?"

"Can't you see I'm packing my stuff? Now if you-"

"You're kidding me!"

Sheryl jumped as he lost his temper.

"What has gotten into you? Packing? After what happened last night? What about this morning then!"

Breaking eye contact, the young woman managed to utter a reply.

"We should just forget what happened…"

"Forget? How am I supposed-"

"Then just call it a one night stand! You should be happy now that you had what you wanted!"

"How can you say that! You were the one that-"

"Well you certainly didn't try hard to prove me wrong last night!"

She recoiled in fear as he raised his hand to slap her. Seconds ticked away before she reopened her eyes.

The slap never came but she knew she had crossed the line when she saw how he teared up.

"Tell me you didn't mean that…"

"Your brother's right… Our relationship… If I wasn't dying… We wouldn't even be together if you hadn't found out…"

"It's your fault… Always running around telling everyone how great Sheryl Nome is, how you can do everything… The thought of losing you never crossed my mind before…"

Taking her in his arms, Alto placed his cheek against her own, their tears mingling together for the second time. Despite all she had said she didn't find the strength to push him away and returned the embrace instead.

"When we first met on the stage, I thought you were awesome but then I saw you as a pampered diva. I first realized you were more than that for the first time in the shelter… I saw other sides of you at the mall, at your live performance…"

She should have interrupted him but she couldn't bring herself to say anything through her sobs.

"I thought you were just toying with me. I still had my doubts even when you couldn't go back to Galaxy… With the way you dismissed our first kiss… Next thing I know you're dying…"

Both of them were openly crying by now.

"How was I supposed to react? Tell me!"

"Alto…"

"Do you know how much effort it took me to say that I love you? I've already said it twice… How many times will I have to show you I meant it before you accept that fact..."

She nuzzled into the crook of his neck, a place she had grown quite fond of, before replying in a shaky voice.

"Love… Isn't it supposed to be wonderful? Look at us… All we've done is harm each other… I don't cry much and yet… It's all I've been doing since we've been together… Even you, you've been acting so out of character since-"

"Sorrow, hardships… Do you really think that's all there is to it?"

"We both know I won't make it… I don't want you to suffer the same way as-"

"If you think not you will blossom…"

"Alto-"

"Nor shall you blossom if you think… That's what he kept saying…"

"I don't want you to regret-"

"Living the rest of my life wondering what could have been, now that would be a life full of regrets… I know my Father would agree."

She pulled back a little to look directly into his eyes once more.

"Why do you keep pushing so hard after all I've said…?"

He was slightly taken aback by the question. The answer was so obvious he failed to see how she could have missed it.

"Because I'm the only one who can put up with you, that's why…"

The songstress failed to fight the new onset of tears. Even though his response hadn't been the most romantic one it felt so right that she couldn't help but cling to him as if her life depended on him as she wept. However those were tears of happiness flowing freely this time around and she readily welcomed this nice change.

They both remained silent for a while, comforting each other.

"Going out with a celebrity won't be easy…"

Despite his blurry vision, Alto smirked at her poor attempt at discouraging him.

"You're grasping at straws here… Even if they try to expose our private life you'll just have to drive them away…you're Sheryl Nome after all."

Sheryl buried her head in his chest, dampening his shirt, as she gave up trying to deceive her own heart. Relieved to see that he finally managed to win their endless argument, he rested his head on top of hers, enjoying the scent of her hair

They remained like this for what seemed to be forever before he whispered something that gave her goose bumps.

"Let's move out. NUNS provided me an apartment since Quarter left. Let's live together, just the two of us…"

His offer was too appealing and she couldn't do much besides nodding against his chest.

"You'll have to help me pack…"

"Yeah."

"I love you… Alto…"

Knowing the woman in his arms probably wouldn't miss the chance to tease him didn't prevent the former Sakura-Hime to shed some 'not so manly' tears as he was overwhelmed by emotion.

"Alto?"

"… That's the first time you said it…"

Under normal circumstances, the man before her would have already been under massive teasing on her behalf. That day hadn't been a normal one though and she thus decided against it.

She could certainly cut him some slack after all she had put him through.

* * *

It didn't take long for the two lovers to pack the songstress' stuff as she had already done half of the work before her Alto-hime entered the room.

Having a diminished wardrobe proved to be quite useful unlike what she had previously thought.

"Here."

Alto clearly noticed the incomprehension in her eyes upon laying them on the piece of clothing he was presenting her. There was no doubt she had recognized the precious yukata he was carefully holding.

"Alto, that's you mother-"

"I'm sure she would have wanted it to be that way."

No words could accurately describe her feelings when she accepted the treasured item, it was a blend of happiness and uncertainty but most of all she felt as if she had just been acknowledge by this loving mother.

Sheryl looked back at the photograph standing on the dresser as she held the article tightly to her chest and he was sure he had seen her mouthing a silent thank-you.

Following her gaze with a smile plastered on his face, he couldn't help but think how nice of a change her smiling tenderly was compared to the tearful face he had seen those past days.

"…It looks good on you…"

Alto hadn't meant for that line to be said out loud and he mentally slapped himself for providing her with more teasing material so soon.

"So… You're a kimono fetishist?"

No matter how gleeful she sounded, his embarrassment sending Sheryl into a giggling fit wasn't to his liking.

"I- I was just stating the obvious!"

The young woman raised an amused eyebrow seeing how he didn't even need her to make a fool of himself.

"Well… The yukata being pink and… Your hair… I was just saying that… You know… You could use more traditional clothes in your wardrobe!"

He sighed in defeat, turning his back to her in an attempt at preventing further damage to his already bruised ego.

"What's wrong with liking those?"

A pair of slender arms circled his waist from behind as she leaned against his back. He would have actually enjoyed the feeling of her soft body pressed against his if it wasn't for her lingering giggles.

"You're right. I like them too. Besides I'm sure you would look beautiful wearing one."

Alto turned around naively thinking his beloved fairy was done with her teasing.

"Of course! Men also do look great in-"

"I said beautiful. I never said handsome."

It took him several seconds to register the difference but he eventually did. However he wasn't going to let her have all the fun this time around. There was no reason he couldn't play along with her little game.

"Are you sure you want me to? I was regarded as the greatest oyama back then. I wouldn't want you to be jealous of my legendary beauty…"

His comeback left her dumbfounded. She knew questioning his manliness was a sure way to strike a nerve with him but she had never expected him to use her teasing to get back at her.

Instead of ticking her off that comment of his was rewarded by a heartily laugh and he soon joined her with one of his own.

For a short time they were brought back to those carefree days when banters such as these were common and no illness threatened to tear them apart.

They remained locked in an embrace for a while, just enjoying the nice change of mood for a while.

When they finally pulled apart, Sheryl grabbed her lover's hands in her own before requesting something she knew he would probably refuse. It was a good opportunity for him to come to term with his past though.

"Alto… I would like to meet you father… To thank him for his hospitality…"

…

…

"…Okay."

Sure she had expected him to eventually comply with her request but not before voicing out loud his reluctance first. In fact he had agreed so easily that it took a combination of his hands squeezing hers and their fingers intertwining in addition to his gentle smile to actually convince her that she had heard right.

After she made sure she hadn't imagined that part she leaned in for a quick peck on the lips and they made their way hand in hand to see the Father he had ran away from for far too long now.

* * *

"…"

Sheryl had never been an easily intimidated person but she was still nervous in front of the silent man even more so since he was her lover's father.

Although he was currently stuck in a wheelchair and needed the help of his pupil to move around, she had a hard time finding her voice at first.

She finally settled for simple yet sincere words of gratitude as she bowed down.

"Saotome-sensei… I wanted to thank you for your hospitality. I'm truly grateful for-"

For a moment she was afraid of having offended him as she heard him clear his throat.

"I should be the one thanking you."

The songstress looked up at the old man only to be shocked upon seeing his bowed down head.

"… He would still be running away if it weren't for you…"

"Saotome-sensei…"

The seconds ticked away slowly before Alto's father finally spoke again.

"… You should stop calling me that. From what I've heard, you're almost part of the family now."

She stared at her feet as a light pink tinge heated her cheeks. Her embarrassment has yet to reach its peak though and her cheeks turned bright red when she heard a completely unexpected sentence coming from him.

"I look forward to seeing my grand-kids."

As if it wanted to further her humiliation her stomach decided to make its existence known to the three people currently standing in the room. The growling sound was followed by a deep laugh to which the former galactic fairy could only respond with a sheepish smile.

Alto had decided to stay out of the room he had led his lover to, thus waiting in the corridor for their talk to end.

Sure, he had gone a long way since he first met her, going as far as returning to the home he had vowed he would never go back to. He had stopped running away since then but he wasn't sure his father would be willing to listen to his apology and he definitely wanted to avoid a meaningless fight in front of her, hence his waiting to talk to him alone.

The slide-door opened to reveal his foster brother pushing the wheelchair the man he had been fleeing from for the past years was sitting in. Neither of them said anything as they passed him, his father not even bothering to look up at his son.

Seeing no songstress leaving with them, the pilot looked into the room to make sure she was all right.

"… She is a fine woman."

For the first time in years, Saotome Ranzou spoke directly to his son much to the surprise of the said son.

The pilot turned around hastily only to see that he had his back turned to him, not that it did matter much.

"Yes… I know."

"You'll have to take good care of her."

The silence lingered for a while as it took Alto some time to find the resolve he needed to say what he wanted to.

"Father, I… I wanted to apologize…"

"If you think not you shall blossom-"

"-Nor shall you blossom if you think…"

"…Maybe there's still hope for you after all…"

He could picture the smirk on his father face at hearing this.

"…I wanted to ask you… Did you ever regret… Marrying mom?"

"… Do you even have to ask?"

A sigh of relief escaped from the former performer and he was amazed at how they could agree on the matter in spite of all that happened.

"You should join us for lunch… Unless you want her to starve to death."

Not much was said but Alto could feel that a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart as he was finally able to reconcile with his past.

* * *

Whether he wanted to or not he couldn't deny the fact that Sheryl's ability to surprise him was top notch. However he wished she would just stop doing so for the rest of the day as he stared at her stabbing the food with her chopsticks, in front of his father, no less.

He couldn't decide what had been the most humiliating moment of the day. The bed incident or the current one.

Even if his father didn't seem to be bothered by such a display, a quick glance at Yasaburo's embarrassed self prompted him to whisper some instructions to the woman sitting next to him.

"Stop doing that…! Can't you just eat like a normal person?"

"What, do you think I'm doing it on purpose? It's my first time using chopsticks…!"

Alto knew beforehand that he would have to face many trials by getting with the songstress and that she would keep him busy but none of that prevented him from forsaking neither his beloved VF-25 nor his quietness in order to be with her.

However he never thought that one of the first challenge he would have to face would be teaching her how to use chopsticks before she further made a fool of herself.

Sighing at the unpleasant task awaiting him, the pilot took her chopsticks and placed them in her hand, his fingers guiding hers in the right position.

"See? That's how you hold them."

He kept his hand around hers as they proceeded to pick a morsel of food.

"Got it?"

"I guess…"

Why people would use chopsticks to eat when it was so much easier to use a simple fork eluded her but she wanted to meet her teacher's expectations and she couldn't afford to ruin the first meal he had with his father in years.

Being Sheryl Nome, the former renowned galactic fairy, didn't help her in mastering the art of using chopsticks though as she dropped the food she was holding onto her lap.

Her eyes wandered briefly to each man present at the table as she tried to hide them behind her bangs.

Although she was relieved to see how unfazed her lover's father seemed to be as he kept enjoying his quiet meal like nothing happened, she felt the heat rising rapidly in her cheeks when she saw Alto's head buried in his hands and his foster brother looking away with a hand covering his mouth.

She cursed at her illness never kicking in when it needed to, how she wished she could just faint when she wanted to instead of always doing so at the wrong time.

Her wishful thinking was interrupted when a pair of chopsticks holding food came into her view.

"…Here…"

"Alto…?"

"…What are you waiting for?"

"I can't…"

It was surprising how her blush managed to deepen considering how bright her cheeks already were.

"It's too embarrassing…!"

His eyebrow twitched as he raised his voice.

"Embarrassing? What about me then? You should thank me for proposing to feed-"

The young man froze as Yasaburo cleared his throat and he immediately calmed down, too ashamed to risk a look at the man sitting in front of him.

"… If you don't want to then-"

A soft hand gently grabbed his own as he was about to draw it back and Alto blushed when her lips parted as she shyly placed the tip of the chopsticks in her mouth.

Sheryl averted her gaze and focused on munching the food he had provided her with.

Being the celebrity she was, the songstress had eaten in the most renowned hotels and restaurants in the galaxy before she finally made it to Frontier. It was amazing though how delicious the food she had in her mouth tasted considering how simple it was compared to what she had already tried in the past.

A flash of a poor girl looking through a window at a happy family having a nice dinner crossed her mind. For the past years she had led a life that most people galaxy-wide wished to and yet the little girl's dearest wish had never been granted prior that day.

It took her almost two decades but she had finally experienced what she wanted all along.

Unable to hold back the tears anymore, the now grown woman buried her face in the chest of the loved one she had shared a nice meal with. Not only did her circle of friends widened considerably upon meeting him, he also provided her with the family she never had.

"Thank you… Alto…"

Not knowing what caused such a sudden outburst, Alto panicked as her tears dampened his shirt.

Her muffled thanks however didn't go unnoticed and it didn't take more than that to urge him to pull her close, forgetting all the previous embarrassment he had felt at such displays in front of the two other men.

"… I don't know what you're talking about… but… You're welcome… I guess."

The pilot still didn't know what she had thanked him for but he didn't press the matter further as he simply kept stroking the back of the woman that helped him to come to term with his past.

"… Youngsters…"

Being the only one to hear him mutter under his breath, Yasaburo was the only one to notice the faint trace of a smile on his master's face as he finished his bowl of rice.

Looking back at the young couple still locked in an embrace he sighed in defeat. He knew that their story would probably be denied its happy end but upon seeing that scene, he understood that making the most of the few moments they would be granted together was all they could do.


	3. Chapter 3

_A/N: Hi everyone! Here's an update once full of cheese, just in time for Christmas. I apologize for making you wait more than 2 months for this crappy follow-up T_T_

_If you really want to put the blame on someone, I suggest you dot it on my PSP along with Macross Ace Frontier! (And exams)._

_Anyway I once again want to thank all the readers, reviewers and fans who are spreading Macross Frontier Love. Keep on buying the goods XD_

_Merry Christmas and happy new year to everyone and special wishes for the SkullFaerie crew and all the AruSheri fans out there!_

**BETA-ED -3/1/11 **(by steshin)

* * *

Even though she managed to come through the Vajra's attack unscathed despite her charging in recklessly, the same couldn't be said about her fellow Zentraedi pilot. Luckily Nene wasn't severely injured but she still needed to be attended to in order to be ready for their upcoming encounter with the Vajra's forces.

As Klan had expected, the hospital turned out to be too crowded for her taste and it only took her 5 minutes before she made her way to the rooftop, if there was one thing she hated above all, it was being mistaken for a child.

The still fuming warrior was mildly surprised to find a certain young man lying down on the floor. Neither his presence there nor his peculiar flying hand motion were unexpected as his passion for the sky had always been blatant to anyone who knew him.

However it was her first time seeing him with earphones on and intently listening to music.

"She's really impressive."

Alto froze upon hearing the childish voice. As a now full-fledged soldier he felt slightly ashamed at having been snuck up on so easily.

"Two days and you're already like this."

Seeing the quizzical look he gave her, Klan pointed to the disk case he was holding with a smirk plastered on her face.

"I never knew you were a fan of hers."

The young man sat up and removed his earphones before replying to her for the first time.

"Is it that unusual for me to listen to some music?"

"In your case, it is. You never showed interest in anything else than the sky before and here you are now, lost in thoughts while listening to her album, going as far as naming your own squadron-"

"Everyone's been listening to Sheryl's songs."

A smug grin erupted on her child-like face as she brought his attention to the needle mark she had spotted on his right forearm.

"I never thought you would score so quickly."

He had already gone through his fair share of embarrassment this morning but it didn't prevent him from blushing once again.

Once again Alto found himself on the wrong end of the teasing, a situation he knew all too well.

Knowing there was no point denying the obvious –not that he really wanted to anyway-, Alto got up and made his way towards the railing, yanking back his arm from the Meltran's grip in the process.

Much to his dismay, if her patting him vigorously on the back was an indication to be trusted, it looked like Klan was in a rather playful mood today.

"I'm proud of you, young man! Not even caring about your own welfare… That's really stupid but it certainly is romantic!"

He didn't dare to imagine what people would think if they spotted him being congratulated by a little girl for achieving a feat she shouldn't even be thinking of at her age.

Now he could understand Michel's reluctance to commit to a serious relationship with the young Meltran, no matter how gorgeous she looked in her Macronized form, dating her Miclonized self in public would be difficult.

"All that's left now is for you to propose."

"Yeah"

Somehow, his reply managed to put a stop to the teasing he was getting since Klan's appearance.

"Alto… I was joking."

"Why not? It's not like I'm going to be tied down for long…"

Alto instantly regretted saying this when he saw the Meltran turning her face from him. It wasn't right to burden her with his worries when she already had her own share of problems.

"Why are you here?"

He could only hope changing the subject would be enough to resume their talk.

"Nene's getting treated here, I dropped by to visit her."

It was his turn to avert his gaze now.

"…How is she?"

"Don't worry she's fine."

Hearing this prompted the young man to sigh in relief. So much happened these past days that he was already bracing himself for another bad piece of news.

"She'll be back in no time!"

"I wouldn't bet on that with those incompetents…"

Being so negative wasn't something he particularly enjoyed but he had to let some of his frustration out. Knowing he had Klan's full attention, the pilot went on with his rant.

"Sheryl-san, your medical record is inaccurate; I'm afraid you will have to undergo a full check-up once again… What kind of crap is that? She already stayed here when we came back from Galia IV! What were they doing back then?"

Klan knew it was probably useless to try and reason with the fuming young man next to her but she couldn't leave him in this state. It wasn't right for him to have such resentment towards Frontier's medical staff.

"Maybe someone tampered with her record."

"Who would do that? She's a singer, not some-"

"Grace O'Connor?"

Granted the Meltran was far more insightful than he had been, but it still seemed be a ludicrous claim. Sure, she had been quick to forsake the galactic fairy as soon as she found Ranka however he couldn't see how she could conclude that this woman had anything to do with Sheryl's predicament.

"Sheryl's former manager? What kind of nonsense-"

"Her name turned up during my research on the V-type infection. She even published a thesis on that matter."

Sheryl's speech about her life being nothing more than a lie flashed through his mind. What he had initially written off as an attempt to justify her running away may have been the harsh truth after all.

All the rage Alto had instantly died down and was replaced with a feeling of utter uselessness upon hearing this. He had conducted a few researches of his own on the matter and yet he never found anything beyond basic information on his lover's illness.

Only then did he realize that the songstress had probably been a carrier from the start, whether she had been aware of it or not. The only sure thing though –if Klan was right- was the fact that Grace deliberately hid the truth on her condition for who knows what reason.

"You're telling me she knew all along for Sheryl and that she managed to tour around the galaxy without anybody recognizing her?"

"I can only guess she had influential accomplices…"

"That's insane…"

Until now the young pilot had never thought about anything else than waging war with the Vajras in memory of his predecessor, the late Lieutenant Henry Gilliam.

When he met the currently missing songstress of hope and actually learnt about her tragic past, he thought he had found a valid reason and thus joined the battle against their ruthless aggressors in order to protect her, encouraged by Sheryl's words to guide fate with his own hands.

Nevertheless he had decided to stay on Frontier to protect it even though Ranka left to go to the Vajras. He may have been unable to protect Galaxy's fleet –Sheryl's homeland- but he certainly would not fail to protect her new home, no matter what conspiracy and ulterior motives their higher-ups could have.

"You seem to know a lot. What about the Quarter leaving? What about Ranka?"

"I'm sure they had their own reasons to leave."

"A reason good enough to abandon the fleet…"

Klan couldn't help but notice how his knuckles were turning white as he tightened his grip on the railing while talking. Glancing at his face she was surprised to see the resolve in his eyes considering the inner turmoil flashing through them a moment ago.

"Grace, the Quarter, Ranka… They better not get in our way."

The Meltran knew well what was going through the young pilot's mind; the tone used further confirming his intentions. There would be no distinction between their alien foes and their former allies. He would show no mercy to anyone threatening Frontier and the former galactic fairy's wellbeing.

"That's why I stayed: to prevent you and Luca from doing stupid things."

This statement earned her an enquiring look.

"Men tend to act dumber when it comes down to women. I'm just making sure you don't kill yourselves in vain."

It was actually scary to see how right she was. Michel immediately charged to his death when he saw his childhood friend in danger; Ozma had no qualm about leaving the fleet as he thought it was the best way to protect the two women in his life; Luca didn't hesitate to use his friend and a dying woman to ensure the safety of the comatose girl he had a crush on; And last but not least, he was actually willing to kill the girl he had initially vowed to protect along with his former companions in arms if it could give a certain pink-haired songstress a chance to live several more days.

Their lengthy talk was interrupted by a vibrating cellphone. Come to think of it, Klan never heard Alto's ring tone since he always kept his phone on silent mode. However she was sure that whatever it may have been in the past, his actual one was related to Sheryl in one way or another.

"I'm sorry but I have to go. The Queen's calling. See you later."

He didn't even wait for her reply before hastily making his way back inside and a smile formed on the Meltran's childlike face upon seeing how eager the now grown man was to reunite with his fairy.

* * *

"What a waste of time!"

Although the couple had just left the hospital a moment ago, Alto was already having a hard time resisting the urge to laugh at Sheryl's outburst. In fact he was actually quite relieved to see her perking up instead of one more display of sadness such as what he had been witnessing for the past few days.

"How did it go?"

The songstress abruptly stopped in her tracks and spun around to answer her lover's question, her gorgeous hair whipping around as she did so.

"They even messed up my blood type! Can you believe that? I had nothing but praise for Frontier since I arrived here but I think I will have to revise my judgment!"

It was rather amusing to see how her reaction mirrored his before he had a talk with Klan.

However now that the Meltran had given him some insight on who may have been responsible for such a glaring error, Alto couldn't help but sympathize with the medical staff that had to handle the young woman.

"Well, I guess they were just overwhelmed-"

"You're actually siding with them?"

Maybe he should have kept his mouth shut after all.

Letting go of the hand she had been holding until now, Sheryl turned around in a huff and resumed her walking, leaving behind her kabuki-hime in the process.

"And here I thought you were on my side!"

"I was just joking. Of course I'm on your side."

Sheryl calmed down upon hearing this and slowed down, thus giving Alto the opportunity to take hold of her hand once again.

"For a moment I even expected them to tell me all that V-type infection diagnostic was another mistake on their behalf."

Even though she had said it in a rather light tone, Alto knew how self-conscious about her illness she was. Not wanting to upset her once again, the young man settled for a simple yet meaningful squeeze. He felt rather proud of himself for doing things right for once as she rewarded him with a sweet smile and returned his comforting gesture with one of her own.

Taking advantage of this momentary break, Alto asked something that had been on his mind since they had left the hospital.

"What's with that paper plane?"

"I was starting to think you were too blinded by my dazzling beauty to notice."

Once again the songstress let go of his hand and with a grin plastered on her face, she gestured proudly to the inanimate object her companion was eyeing quizzically.

"Today, my dear hime, is the day I will prove you that you're not the only one who can fold paper planes!"

It was a frivolous challenge: he wasn't the only who could and he perfectly knew that already, his late mother being the one who taught him how to make a decent plane… Even Ranka knew how to make one since he showed her how to do it before she defected to the Vajra's.

More importantly, just one look at the crumple sheet of paper she was holding was enough for the expert he was to know her so called plane wouldn't be able to fly unless she had a secret trick up her sleeve. He highly doubted she had sufficient knowledge to integrate some miniature jet engine in a simple paper plane, if it was even possible, but still there was some remote possibility a miracle could happen, she was Sheryl Nome after all and that's what made her so special in everyone's eyes, even more so in his.

"Speechless?"

The pilot's eyes shifted back to his lover's eyes, trying to decipher the secret meaning of the challenge she had issued him. Maybe he was just paranoid especially after the talk he had with Klan. As far as he could tell there was nothing more than a playful glint in the blue eyes he had been staring at for several seconds now, not that he had anything to say against that since it made her look even more enthralling than usual.

Yes, he was completely mesmerized by the woman before him and he would have gladly stayed like this for the remainder of the day if it wasn't for her sudden change in expression.

"Hello? Sheryl Nome to Mr. Goldfish! Are you going to gape like that for long? Want me to perform a CPR?"

The wheels in Alto's mind began to work once again and his brain sent back several signals, first of all, close his open mouth. He needed to refocus on the topic at hand but it proved to be harder than expected as he had absolutely no idea what they were talking about before she sneakily hypnotized his poor self.

Sheryl raised an eyebrow upon seeing his eyes shifting nervously. Alto never ceased to surprise her indeed. Never before had she thought he would be bold enough to completely space out while talking to her. Did he even listen to what she said?

Seeing how the presently comical-hime wasn't going to revert back to his former legendary self without her much needed help, Sheryl practically shoved her plane into his dumbfounded face, eyes narrowing menacingly.

"A-Ah! The plane!"

It had been a close call. One more second and he would have completely given in to his siren's call. He swore at whoever had the dumb idea to give such a nickname to the mischievous creature in front of him, she clearly was no galactic fairy. The galactic siren, that's what she really was. A beautiful siren with a surreal voice that targeted exclusively long-haired kabuki actors now converted into pilots. He wondered how many men had succumbed to her call. Surely his lover had millions of admirers across the galaxy, and among them he was sure that several millions of men and even women alike fantasized on her. She could have picked any male – or female – she wanted and yet she chose him as her first and probably her last with the way things were going.

Alto's lips curved upward slightly at the thought. He probably was the pilot who had been shot down the most in the history of both the UN Spacy and the NUNS and he was still around, coming through unscathed each time. To top it all he shared the life of the finest woman in the galaxy. There was no arguing that he was the luckiest hime indeed. All thoughts of her impending doom were forgotten for once as he stared at the now pouting songstress, arms crossed over her chest.

"Are you mocking me?"

Sheryl turned away from the smiling hime in a huff, nose high in the air. First he had the nerve to ignore her and now he was mocking her. Did the Vajra abduct her angsty pilot and replace him with a clone when she was undergoing her full check up? Not that this Alto was worse than the previous one come to think it, maybe the Vajras weren't the ruthless killers everyone thought they were after all. Seeing her pilot in shining VF smiling certainly was a nice change.

"Do you really think your crumpled sheet of paper is going to fly? You have a lot to learn before even thinking of challenging me."

Looking back at him, Sheryl was pleased to see he was finally in the mood to go along with her little act and returned the smirk plastered on his face with one of her own.

"Shut up, little hime. It will fly, just wait and see for yourself!"

With one swift movement of her wrist, the plane took off and began its ascension. A flicker of hope lighted her eyes as she watched said plane rising higher and the songstress unconsciously took a step forward as if she wanted to chase after it. There was only one thought in her mind, longer. She wanted her plane to soar through the sky the longest it could. Unlike the man standing next to her it didn't matter to her if it was an artificial one as long as it was the same sky his paper planes were flying in.

Sheryl had never been a superstitious person but her heart still sank when the plane took a nosedive and crashed onto the hard concrete. She sighed as she made her way towards the crash site- not that it was a long way from where she was initially standing- and gathered the plane. Frontier being in shambles wasn't a reason to throw garbage around especially now that the cleaning droids were disabled for the time being.

Spotting an empty trash can that survived the previous onslaught, the songstress disposed of the unimportant paper. It didn't matter if she had used her prescription to make the plane, it was just a playful challenge she had issued to her lover. A challenge that didn't end well for her, it was only normal that she couldn't always win.

"You were right. It was impossible to make it fly after all."

"Sheryl…"

Unbeknown to her, Alto didn't pay much attention to the short flight. He didn't know what was written on it but judging by Sheryl's reaction it wasn't a mere paper plane as she had put it. He had witnessed how her eyes lit up upon seeing it flying at first and his own heart sank with dread when he saw how distressed she looked as it came crashing down.

"Let's go, Alto!"

With that said, the pink haired woman resumed her walking. If she was one of the greatest songstresses the galaxy had ever known, Sheryl Nome was clearly not a great actress. Heck, if he had to rate her attempt at faking cheerfulness on a scale of 20 he wouldn't have given her more than 0.25. Being a professional actor proved to come in handy more often that he was willing to admit.

For the second time in 10 minutes the young pilot succumbed to the call of his siren, except that this one was more akin to a silent cry of despair which was clearly not to his liking.

He would not let her fight alone once more even if he had to trade his former Sakura-hime title for the less flattering trash-hime one.

At least he was lucky that his opponent was an unmoving and empty garbage can this time.

God knows what would have happened if it had been one of those cleaning droid armed with those lethal weapons known as the household goods.

* * *

For the second time of the day, Sheryl opened the door to her new home, the home she had always dreamt of in her childhood, and felt like a little girl whom had received the most precious gift ever. She looked back to the man, whose hand was still linked with hers, her face beaming as if all her previous worries had vanished upon reaching their home.

"Home… We're home."

Alto nodded before letting go of her hand.

"Now that you're done with it you should get some rest."

"You're not coming?"

She cringed inwardly upon hearing how desperate she had just sounded. All she could do was silently pray that he hadn't noticed it.

Much to her dismay Alto seemed to have drastically improved at catching those little details lately.

"It's only my daily patrol shift. Nothing to worry about."

They had only officially been together and yet she was already reliant on him to the point she didn't know if she would be able to go on if something happened to the pilot she loved so much.

She really needed to get a grip of herself if she didn't want to die from anxiousness once they would engage into their final battle for Frontier survival. It wouldn't be long before the unavoidable day everyone feared would come.

"That's right. You're a squad captain now."

Alto returned her smile, it was a good start.

"Yeah… It's not that bad even if my wingmen are kind of nosy."

His reply elicited a giggle from the songstress.

"What should I call you now? Hime-leader? Hime-1?"

The songstress punishment came in the form of a flick on the nose.

"I'm glad I didn't seek any advice from you for my call sign."

It was his turn to chuckle as the sole answer he received from her was a light sneeze.

"You deserved that punishment for messing with newly-appointed Captain, Saotome Alto… aka Sagittarius-1."

He had his moments of sweetness but never did she expect him to name his very own squadron after one of her song. It was even more touching considering how they first met while she was performing that one at the time. One day she would have to establish a list of all those little things Alto had done to make her feel special lest she forget some of them.

"Alto, I-"

"Just rest until I come back. I'll take care of dinner."

He turned around to make his way back to the elevator. It was typical of him, saying one of the sweetest things he could have told her and leaving the next second without even letting her a chance to give him a good luck kiss. She would be damned if she let him go away like this after what had been said.

Grabbing one of his arms, she prevented him from going any further and forced him to face her once more. The rest of the story was self-explanatory and didn't need much description. Suffice to say the pilot went along with the good luck kiss his lover offered him and several seconds passed before they pulled apart.

"I'll be waiting, Alto."

He cupped her cheek and laid a kiss on a forehead before resuming his walk to the elevator.

It was just a patrol shift and here they were acting like it he would not come back from it. Alto couldn't help but shudder at the thought of the coming battle. No matter what was thrown at them, he would have to make sure he would come back to her safely. This very thought ran continuously in his head as he began reading the paper he had retrieved from the garbage can.

The puzzled looks he received didn't matter to him, he would stay by her side.

Wiping his eyes once more, Alto shoved the paper in his pocket and hurried to the base.

* * *

Alto hated these patrol shifts. Not only were they incredibly boring, they left him dispirited. He could see another Island being abandoned as his VF-171EX veered back to the once luxurious Frontier, a colony whose only hope of salvation resided in the conquest of an alien world. Kill in order to survive; it has become their ranks new motto.

It shouldn't affect him that much, seeing his homeland wrecked beyond repair. He used to hate that place with its artificial sky after all and yet it sickened him to see it in such a state.

"Taichou, I have a question. May I ask?"

He saw no harm in answering one question from his wingman and with their shift practically being over he might as well spend its remainder talking with his men instead of brooding like he had been for the most part of it.

"Go ahead."

"Is it true that you're dating Sheryl?"

Maruyama was known to be one of Sheryl's die-hard fans. Heck, he even introduced himself as her biggest fan in the galaxy when they first met. His nose art confirmed his infatuation with the songstress, much to his leader's displeasure, the former actor even had him remove it as soon as he was given command, despite his subordinate complains.

Alto cursed inwardly at his lack of forethought. He should have known that question would have something to do with her.

"What are you asking all of a sudden?"

"It's the rumor! They say the reason you didn't join the SMS desertion is because of her."

This boy knew too much for his own good.

"All private questions are rejected."

Changing the subject was the only thing Alto could do to avoid further enquiries on his love life with the galactic fairy.

"Don't you know about the valkyrie pilots curse? If you tease someone about a woman during a mission, you'll suddenly get shot d-"

His heart raced upon hearing the younger man's scream. Although he had secretly prayed for something to happen and force his subordinate to drop out the subject, he certainly didn't mean to kill him. He would never look at "Do You Remember Love" the same way now that he knew the curse worked.

"Maruyama!"

"S-Sheryl-san…"

"Eh?"

The relief of knowing Maruyama was still safe and sound was all but forgotten at this point as Alto zoomed to see his girlfriend was effectively standing in the place where they always seemed to bump into each other, waving at them moreover.

"Well, well…"

If even his second wingman, Warrant Officer Inada, joined the teasing, it could only mean one thing.

"Taichou, please get her autograph for me afterwards!"

Alto was definitely screwed.

* * *

"I told you to wait at home!"

"Are you that displeased to see me…?"

Those eyes were one of his greatest weaknesses. Alto couldn't stand to see the sad look she was giving him but she didn't seem to know any of this. On second thought he wouldn't put it past her to exploit it to her advantage.

"That's not what I meant…"

It was the truth after all. He was greatly moved to see she walked all the way just to see him. However, the last thing he needed was his two wingmen gossiping about his private life during their missions. More importantly, he just wanted her to take it easy until she recovered.

Unfortunately there would probably be no recovery for the pink-haired woman.

Now wasn't the right time to mope around. He would have all his life to do it afterwards…

"So why did you come here?"

As much as she had expected that question, Sheryl still couldn't help but nervously shift her gaze towards her feet. How she wished she didn't forget her faithful pair of sunglasses.

The songstress braced herself for the lecture she would have to undergo once she told him what he wanted to know.

"I… We need to… do some shopping…"

Alto raised an eyebrow at her reply. While one couldn't say their refrigerator was full, he was sure he would be able to cook a decent meal with the supplies they had. He was skilled in the culinary art since he had lived alone for several years now.

"Don't worry about it, we have more than enough. That is, unless you plan to stuff yourself."

Normally she would have already wiped off the smirk her lover had on his face but she knew this was an argument she wouldn't win, no matter how many witty remarks she came back with.

"No we don't…"

"What did you do?"

Sheryl flinched at the wary tone he had used. There was no doubt her ego as a woman wasn't going to be spared the humiliation that was upon her.

"I-I just wanted to cook something for you and-"

"I told you I would take care of dinner! Do you realize how hard those ingredients are to find?"

Of course she knew how hard it was to come across fresh ingredients these days. Under normal circumstances she would have slapped him for talking as if she was just some kind of diva who had no foothold in reality, but there was no denying she was responsible for wasting those valuables supplies.

"I was just trying to make a simple-"

She stopped as he took her right hand in his and gently brushed his thumb against her bandaged finger. For the umpteenth time in two days she could feel her eyes watering and had to blink back the tears as she saw Alto's eyes widen in realization. What kind of woman couldn't cook without risking of contaminating her boyfriend with an incurable disease?

Her heart shattered once more with the look he gave her. She could see it all, confusion, guilt, sorrow… pity? All those negative feelings swirling in those golden orbs because of her. He wasn't supposed to look at her that way.

"Sheryl, I didn't know… I-I'm sorry-"

The songstress instinctively yanked back injured her hand to hide it with her other one.

"Don't say it! Don't…"

Once more she was forced to concede defeat as a lone tear trailed down her face, followed soon after by some of its peers. Things never seemed to go the way she wanted them these days. She was supposed to be enjoying some nice homemade cooking with her dearest person at this moment, not crying over a little cut with her boyfriend giving her the look she despised the most.

There were numerous instances where Alto should have shut his mouth and this was one of them. It pained him to no end to see the woman, whom once could be considered as the personification of self-confidence, breaking down like this. He thus did the only thing he could think of which was hugging his sobbing fairy. Comforting her became his top priority as he kept on stroking her back, completely oblivious to the curious stares being thrown their way. The couple stayed locked in an embrace until her sobs died down.

"Let's go…"

The songstress simply nodded against his chest.

* * *

Sheryl sat on the edge of her new bed, contemplating the events that had taken place that night. So far it had been a pleasant one, mostly thanks to Alto's thoughtfulness.

She had no more doubt about it, she really needed to list all the little things he had done to make her feel loved. It ranged from gluing down the end of her chopsticks together to make sure she would be able to eat without humiliating herself as she did earlier to making sure she wouldn't bawl her eyes out in the shower while he wasn't looking.

In her defense, bath-time had been exciting for the both of them even if his unexpected incursion started it all. It was too bad she would have to get used to the rubber feel against her flesh from now on.

She was still combing her hair when her princess charming stepped into the room, a towel hanging around his shoulder. He sat down next to her and mimicked her gesture in an attempt to untangle the mess known as his own mane of hair. The songstress giggled as she heard her boyfriend struggle with some renegade strands.

"Do you need some help?"

A groan of frustration was her only reply. Maybe she should help him, it would be her way of repaying his unusual consideration.

She left her comb on the nightstand and immediately worked on ruffling her hime's blue hair. It was much more fun to mess with him after all.

Being caught by surprise, it took him some time to get a hold on her arms. Once he did, the pilot pinned the mischievous fairy down to the bed. Narrowing his eyes, he scrutinized his still giggling prey. He would make sure this stab in the back wouldn't go unpunished. Hell hath no fury like a disheveled hime.

During several minutes, Sheryl's laughter were the only sounds echoing in the room amidst the shuffling of the bed sheets as she was subjected to Alto's wrath, his agile fingers tickling her like there was no tomorrow.

He eventually stopped when he deemed she had learnt her lesson – or rather when she began to beg for her life – and flopped down next to her, joining her laughter. They both laid down there, trying to catch their breath. This was how she had always wished her life to be, full of laughter shared with a person she could call her dearest.

Having calmed down, the songstress reached for the comb she had been using before. Her eyes widened in recognition at the small paper plane next to it. She didn't notice at first but it clearly was the same plane she had used earlier, albeit slightly modified.

"I was starting to think you were too blinded by my manliness to notice."

She looked up at the man currently leaning on his elbow watching her, confused. The aforementioned man sat up, before turning back to his girlfriend, a smile still plastered on his face.

"So what do you think of the improvements I made? Looks better now, doesn't it?"

Seeing how her gaze kept shifting from him to the crumpled plane lying on the nightstand he decided to go on with his explanation, hoping he would answer most of the question he was sure she wanted to ask in the process.

"Yes, I know that rummaging through garbage is not really classy but it seemed important to you."

"You read it?"

It was an unnecessary question, she perfectly knew that. There was no way he would pick up a random paper plane she had dumped in a trash can, refold it into something more suitable for a durable flight, just to leave it standing there on their nightstand. She already knew he had read it and yet he hadn't mentioned anything regarding either her degrading health or the fact that he never saw her take the pills she had been prescribed.

As if he read her mind, the young man answered her silent query.

"I understand that you're doing it for us all…"

He made no movement but she still felt compelled to hold his gaze.

"I just want you to promise that you won't give up… I promise I won't give up on you."

She took a deep breath and it seemed he was actually struggling to find his next words. However she had seen nothing except absolute certainty in his eyes so far.

"And when it's all over… We can… You… Well you get what I mean, right?"

Although the songstress really had no idea what he meant, in fact she wasn't sure he even knew what he wanted to say, she could still comply with his request.

"…I promise I won't give up either."

A simple phrase and yet he felt as if a great weight has been lifted from his shoulder upon hearing this. Letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding, Alto shifted closer to her, reaching for two sheets of paper lying beneath the plane.

"Well then, let's make your plane fly."

"But you said yourself it was impossible for-"

He handed her one of the two sheets before straightening himself. Folding paper planes equaled serious business in his book.

Upon further inspection Sheryl noticed she was actually holding a copy of her medical prescription.

"You would think it would be easy to make a duplicate in this era."

She could see what he was planning to do, the whole idea was completely stupid though.

"You know what it's called? Cheating."

"I prefer to call it, guiding fate with our own hands."

Alto's eyebrow twitched as he saw his girlfriend trying to stifle a laugh and he threw a pillow at her. He was serious, for God's sake!

"Just shut up and go along with it, ok?"

"Folding paper planes, a romantic moment according Saotome Alto is it?"

A second pillow hit her square in the face, sending her in a giggling fit.

"Let's just get over this and move on to something else, please!"

"I shall look forward to learning from you, Saotome-sensei."

She bowed to him as she said that. That woman sure knew how to drive him insane, no matter what she did. The pilot grabbed a third cushion – who knew how many more she did put in their bed – and smacked her with it, eliciting more giggles from her.

"Stop calling me like my old man!"

Lifting her head, she wiped the tears of laughter from the corner of her eyes before looking back at her fuming companion.

"Okay, let's do it."

"Finally!"

The following minutes were spent peacefully and no more violence took place as Sheryl did her best to fold the finest plane she could under her lover's guidance. If the princess she was so fond of could do it, she should be able to.

"Finished!"

She eagerly handed him her paper plane, waiting for his verdict.

"How is it?"

Putting it against the light, the young man reviewed the object with meticulous care.

"Not bad."

The galactic fairy stuck her tongue out in response to his condescending tone and snatched her work from his expert hands before making her way to the opened window. Alto followed her, a plane of his own at the ready. He pointed to the plane she was gingerly holding.

"Everyone deserves a second chance. At least you of all people should have one."

Smiling at his uncharacteristic sensitiveness, Sheryl took his hand, intertwining their fingers, before they simultaneously launched their respective planes. All was going well when suddenly Alto's plane banked towards Sheryl's one thus colliding with it. He had worked so hard for this moment, only to ruin it all in the end. A bead of cold sweat trailed down his spine.

"I-It wasn't supposed to-"

Sheryl didn't let him finish his sentence as she pressed her lips against his. It was an amazing feat on her behalf as she managed to smother him with passion with this plain gentle kiss.

She glided her lips across his cheek and reached his earlobe, his arms tightening around her waist as she began to nibble gently at it. He was rapidly reaching his limit, it wouldn't be long until he lost whatever self-control he had left.

"Sheryl…"

Her whispering in his ear didn't help in keeping what little sanity he had left.

"Let's move on to something else…"

He couldn't agree more. Even if folding paper planes had always been one of his favorite ways to pass the time, he clearly didn't mind moving on to something likewise interesting if not more.

They definitely had to make the best of the three days they had left before the last battle for their survival took place.


	4. Chapter 4

_Beta-ed by steshin - please do not hesitate to point out any mistakes spotted, so that they may be rectified (editing was done late, so I may have missed a few things, here and there)._

_

* * *

_

As Admiral Perry went over the battle plan one last time, Shun stole glances at the other pilots united for the final briefing. There was no doubt that the three pilots standing in the forefront were veterans, they were, after all, Frontier's elite Diamond squad.

However as he went on with his inspection, the young soldier had to face the facts, the three aforementioned men were lost in a crowd of rookies.

A makeshift army. That's what Frontier's one was at the moment. To top it off, the plan the higher-ups had come up with was nothing short of desperate. Rush into the fray and pray that one of them would be able to obliterate whatever Vajra Queen they may encounter before the bugs managed to wipe them out.

_Protect his family, his homeland_, those were his thoughts when he had enlisted in NUNS. But never in his wildest fantasies did he ever dream that he would be sent out to the biggest battle this ship would ever know. Sure, the VF-171 Nightmare Plus EX was an easy-to-maneuver space fighter-but it didn't change the fact that he had no more than 50 hours of training under his belt.

A cannon fodder, that's what he was. Scratch that, that's what the majority of the young men assembled in the briefing room were.

"May the singing voice of the Fairy of the Galaxy, Sheryl Nome, guide us to our victory!"

He noticed how his leader tensed, his grip tightening around his helmet, at this.

It was an improbable case but if he ever got the chance to live long enough to hook up with a nice girl, he knew for sure that he wouldn't want her to be used in such a way, even more so when said girl got completely disregarded in favor of another songstress not so long ago.

Not that he was one to talk. Being a former student and now a fresh recruit, he wasn't exactly rolling in gold and thus knowingly bought some of those cheap bootlegs to complete his collection. He wouldn't have if he had known beforehand what awaited him. Being lectured by Maruyama wasn't something he particularly enjoyed but it was nothing compared to the death glares sent his way when their leader learned what the rumpus was all about. He should have foreseen that between the Galactic Fairy's boyfriend and her self-proclaimed number-one fan, it was a given that there was no other possible outcome for such heresy. Luckily for him, the pink-haired songstress' appearance had saved him from further punishment at that time.

"Good luck to all of you!"

Indeed they would need a lot of it.

The numerous pilots wasted no time and made their way towards their units but the young man was surprised to see his leader going in the opposite direction. Maybe he wasn't as immune to stress as he previously thought.

"_Taichou?_"

"Go ahead. I'll follow right after you."

And with just that, Saotome Alto resumed his way.

"Taichou is such a lucky bastard. He has the looks, he _had_ the VF-25 and he gets THE girl…"

Maruyama was right, it wasn't that hard to figure out where the man was heading to, considering that even with all his luck, everything might very well end for him as well in a few minutes.

"He could have at least let me keep my lucky charm!"

Shun's lips slightly curved upwards as he recalled the fuss their leader had made over Maruyama's nose art.

"I swear if I die, I will come back to haunt him."

"His reaction wasn't that unexpected considering the nature of"-

"I'm her fan number one! What more can I say?"

Both pilots stopped in front of the shorter man's fighter, his VF, his flying casket. No matter how much Shun tried to shake off this unhealthy thought, it was the only thing he could think of whenever he laid his eyes on the shiny fighter.

"It will be alright. Taichou is the man that managed to catch the Galaxy Fairy! What could happen to us with such a leader?"

This statement was meant for the both of them. Although he never stopped to gloat about the autograph he was about to get once this would be all over and appeared as carefree as usual, Maruyama was still a rookie just like him. He wasn't the only one in this hell.

"You're right. Let's do our best."

It was no use worrying about this, they were already past the contemplation time. All they had to do was to do their best for the sake of everyone. This and praying to be among the survivors if there were any post battles.

With that thought in mind, Sagittarius 02 and 03 climbed into their respective fighters.

* * *

A lone figure sat in front of a large dresser, staring at her reflection. This makeshift dressing room was miles away from what she had previously known while she was still at the height of her fame. It was hard to imagine that the Galactic Fairy was currently getting ready for the most important performance she would probably ever give in her short life.

Not that it mattered anyway, the safety of the whole colony she had come to call home during the past few months was at stake.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her left ear, Sheryl revealed the earring she had received a few days ago. Her thoughts lingered on the man who had given her the piece of jewelry she now treasured, just as much as her mother's memento.  
He probably had boarded his unit by now and soon enough he would be on the front lines.

_Alto…_

The slight hiss of the sliding door shook her from her reverie. Finally, the time to give her greatest performance had-

"It's me."

Now that was quite a surprise. Just as she thought it might have been the last time she would ever see him, he just walked in the room.  
She was moved to see he had come all this way to see her and yet she couldn't help but have mixed feelings regarding this matter. It had already been hard enough to let him go the first time, she didn't know if she had what it took to do it once more.

"The mission should have already started, you know? Why did you come here?"

Although it definitely sounded ruder than intended – especially since she didn't bother to face him – he didn't seem affected at all.

Using the mirror to make eye contact with the songstress, the pilot went on with what he had to tell her.

"Sheryl, I'm coming back. I'll survive this battle and I will definitely come back."

The Galactic Fairy spun around and peered into her lover's eyes. Despite her vision steadily blurring as the seconds ticked away, she could discern the self-confidence showing in those golden orbs. These words weren't spoken lightly, he believed what he had just said, or rather he acted as if he did.

Nevertheless she was relieved to hear him say this.

"One cannot fly alone. He shouldn't fly."

Her eyes widened a bit at the unexpected flying analogy but it didn't last long and she soon allowed herself a tender smile. It was just so like him.

"You finally realized? You're so slow."

For the first time since he entered the room, Alto shifted his gaze away from the woman he had come to call his dearest.

"I don't know what to say to that."

That sheepish tone… The thing she dreaded the most was on the verge of happening. It wouldn't be long now before she broke down in tears and begged him to stay. She could only pray inwardly for him to just shut up and go.

"But now I understand, thanks to you."

A lump formed in Sheryl's throat as he approached and linked their hands together.

According to Klan's words, it was at times like these when one should say those important things and that's exactly what he had initially intended to do. He wanted to let her know how important she was to him.

However as he scrutinized the now misty-eyed woman, he realized it was probably wiser to wait at the end of the conflict. Even he could see that it wasn't the right time to ask the Galactic Fairy such a thing.

"Sheryl, when this is all over…."

The look he gave her sent her heart racing. He didn't have to spell it out, as it was written all over his face-words she both longed and dreaded to hear under such complicated circumstances. She was grateful. Just knowing the feelings were there was enough for her at that moment.

"You can tell me the rest when everything's over."

"…_Ah_… You're right."

Although he didn't get to say what he initially wanted to, her answer and the smile she flashed him were enough for him.

Alto let go of her hands to make his way to the door. As she watched his back, Sheryl suddenly felt the urge to stop him. Deep down, she couldn't help but think it could be the last time she would see him alive and well.

"Alto!"

The soldier was already late for the ongoing operation and he knew that any further interaction would only result in making this harder for the both of them. Still, he couldn't bring himself to ignore her and stopped in his tracks.

"Hmm"-?

It was already too late by the time he realized what his lover was up to. As long as he could remember he had always loathed the feeling of metal embedded in his own flesh, the reason why women would bother to inflict such initial pain to themselves still eluded him to this day.

"You won't be able to lose it this time…"

Unlike what he had previously thought, Alto didn't feel anything close to discomfort under her feathery touch. In fact, he could only focus on what she had just said.

"Sheryl…"

The songstress took a step back to appraise her work, nodding once she deemed it to be satisfying.

"Remember… You'll rarely find as wonderful a woman as me."

Everything was forced, the wink, the smile… It didn't matter though. Last time, he had come back safely despite charging inside a Vajra flagship, thanks to her earring. There was no way he would die out there, now that he wore the other one.

"I know."

Finally, he resumed his way towards the entrance, the precious piece of jewelry dangling from his left ear.

Sheryl Nome had never been a religious person. She had always preferred to think that she had total control over her own fate, that she was the only one to blame when something didn't go the way she wanted. Nevertheless, she still prayed despite her earlier belief as her pilot left the room. And if there ever was a deity in this universe, she hoped it would be merciful enough to grant her dearest wish, no matter how selfish it was to only pray for the safety of one man considering the current situation.

* * *

"Taichou! You're late!"

First the mechanic and now his own wingman. Well there was no denying he had taken more time than he had originally planned to.

"_WHOA!_ Is that Sheryl-san's earring?"

The long-haired man cringed at Maruyama's remark coupled with Shun's whistles, he knew he should have put on his helmet before boarding his fighter but it wasn't exactly an easy task to do so while running with such a long mane.

"Way to go, Taichou!"

"It suits you well!"

Surprisingly enough, he wasn't bothered by this comment. In fact, upon catching his reflection in the canopy, he had to agree, the earring did indeed look good on him.

Somehow his subordinates were noisier than he had expected. Not that he really could blame them, until recently he had been a rookie himself. Teasing their leader was as good a way as any to take their minds off things.

Loading of the MDE missiles was finally completed on all units. Alto checked his ammo supplies. Despite having inferior specs compared to the likes of the VF-25 or VF-27, the Nightmare Plus EX was still armed to the point that he wondered if he would actually get the chance to use _all_ the weaponry he had at his disposition. The battle would probably be over by the time he managed to empty a quarter of it.

As the deployment began, he recalled his first sortie, the earring he had naively hooked in his cockpit at the time and the soothing effect it had on him. He recalled the words Ozma had said at the time.

The former Skull-4 opened a private channel to his wingmates.

"Listen, you two."

He wasn't exactly cut for grand speeches like these. Neither did he have Ozma's experience nor his charisma but as their appointed leader he still felt he had to say it.

"I won't let any of you die. We'll all survive…"

They could feel their units being moved to their designated launch pads.

"…and return to Frontier."

A heavy weight had been lifted from Warrant Officers Maruyama and Shun's shoulders as soon as those words registered in their minds. Their squad leader, the man who managed to sweep the Galactic Fairy off her feet, was watching out for them.

After they had both replied in unison, Alto closed the channel.

To be honest he hated this position, being responsible for those two lives. Nevertheless, his apprehension would not keep him from doing his job right. No matter what would happen out there, they would protect the fleet and come back safely to celebrate with their loved ones.

Soon enough, the first notes of his girlfriend's signature song reached him through the fold quartz she had lent him, fittingly accompanying their take-off.

* * *

The starry battlefield was literally littered with hordes of Vajras and yet that didn't stop Frontier's army from actually having the upper-hand in this last showdown with its legions of fighters pouring endless waves of those new MDE warheads on the enemy, backed up by the numerous space cruisers firing constant beam barrages.

As it stood, it seemed there would be no need for the purposely dispatched stealth frigate Stargazer to make a breakthrough in order to reach the Queen; Battle 25 had nearly completed its transformation and with the Vajras showing nothing near the coordination level they had on their previous encounters, one shot from the fleet's humongous flagship should be enough to tip the scales in their favor for good.

Alto led his squad to an outlying area packed with red lobsters – as they had come to dub them – flying around aimlessly. The three fighters fired their warheads, unleashing purple hell in the aliens' ranks upon contact. He could only watch in awe as his radar HUD display cleared off a number of dots. All that was left to do now was to clean up the Vajra's force remnant.

Each Nightmare sped towards an individual target, breaking up their formation. Under normal circumstances it would have been foolish to let his wingmen duke it out with a red one on their own but as they were right now, the once fearsome aliens were nothing short of sitting ducks.

His prey locked on, Alto riddled it with his two laser guns mounted on both sides of his cockpit. In accordance with what he had been taught, Sagittarius-1 zoomed past the exploding bug and immediately went after another target.

"I got one!"

"Maruyama, behind you!"

Spinning around, the youngster came face to face with a red Vajra pointing his ominously glowing cannon at the stationary Battroid.

His salvation came in the form of several blue beams accurately striking down his foe.

"Idiot! Focus if you don't want to wind up dead!"

"_Y-Yes!_"

Alto scowled as Sagittarius-2 reverted back into fighter mode. This must have been how Ozma felt when he saw him doing the same stupid mistake back then during his rookie days. However, even though he would have to give his subordinate a proper scolding, he was beginning to share his overconfidence with the Vajras, a race with a hive-mind consciousness and no actual understanding of the individuality concept, acting in such a disorganized way.

He had to face it, whether he liked it or not, Sheryl's song proved to be a much more an invaluable asset in their struggle than he would have wanted.

What he didn't know was that another songstress was about to make its debut.

* * *

Her failed experiment was doing way better than she expected as she had been able to finish two songs in a row without any signs of weakening.

The mad scientist smirked.

Her former colleague's granddaughter had always been like this, a hardworking girl who never knew when to give up, a common characteristic of the Nome family. After all these years, Dr. Mao and her daughter still ranked among the most stubborn people she had ever met.

All in all, this observation could be extended to the Frontier convoy as a whole. It was really a shame they couldn't see that she was just elevating humanity above the Protoculture. She could have surely put such pugnacity to good use.  
It didn't matter anymore though as she had finally been able to initiate a connection with the Queen. Now the throne was hers alone and soon she would be able to coerce humanity as a whole into a new age.

The other fleets might be a little reluctant at first but she knew they would be more than willing to cooperate upon seeing the ultimate fate of the 25th large scale super long range emigration fleet.

The time to put an end to their valiant yet pointless efforts had come.

For the first time in the years following the loss of her original body, Grace O'Connor felt an electric shock running down her cybernetic spine. She was going to take sweet delight in watching her two former partners' progenies going against each other and savor every second the highlight of all those years of plotting her revenge against the who refused to acknowledge her theories.

* * *

Sheryl had already begun her third song by the time the first notes of Lynn Minmay's most famous song reached her, soon to be followed by Ranka Lee's voice.

For the first time since her debut, the Galactic Fairy, messed up an entire verse during a live performance but she still continued to sing even though she had already lost the tempo, the emotionless voice overpowering her to the point that she couldn't hear her own one anymore.  
Hearing who she assumed to be Admiral Perry and Frontier's new President, Leon Mishima, arguing about whether to fire or not Battle Frontier's main battery wasn't helping either.

The songstress inwardly cringed as she missed another line. In the distance she could see the Vajras' forces regrouping in the center of the battlefield, lining in front of the green-haired girl's giant representation.

"_Do you remember love?"_

Her eyes widened in horror as their alien foes fired constant barrages against the fleet, completely filling her field of vision with nothing but colorful beams and explosions.

She nearly dropped her microphone when a green beam struck a cruiser stationed near Battle Frontier, blowing up the ship and thus ending hundreds of lives in a flash.

In the background she could hear the panicked voices of the operators announcing losses after losses with Frontier's squadrons getting decimated one after another. Everyone around her was panicking, the operators were all shouting, making it nearly impossible to discern what they were saying. The Galactic Fairy could feel the general panic reaching her as well.

Nonetheless, there were still a lot of people desperately fighting out there. Several people she personally knew were among them starting with her Meltran friend.

Also, _he_ was still fighting too.

Her resolve renewed, Sheryl started to sing the song she had written a few days ago. Although "Northern Cross" was nowhere near "Do you remember love?" in terms of symbolism, she wasn't going to lose to such an inhumane rendition of the classic.

* * *

"What's going on here? Taichou!"

Alto ignored his wingman's inquiries and continued to circle around Ranka's giant apparition performing a song which once embodied salvation for his peers. It wasn't like he knew what was happening anyway.

No, the pilot knew perfectly well what the green songstress was doing with this song, he was in the first row to witness the Vajras firing at his homeland with renewed strength. He just didn't want to accept it.

His grip tightened around the controls as he recalled what he had said to his Meltran friend a few days ago. He had told her he wouldn't hesitate to shoot at his former friend should the need ever arise. However, he had also secretly prayed that it wouldn't have to come to this, that she would realize how much she had endangered the fleet and all its inhabitants by leaving them to fend off the Vajras by themselves.

The young man narrowed his eyes at the ghostly apparition. He could vaguely hear the distress call of the Stargazer frigate amidst his two subordinates yelling. More importantly, he could hear the faint voice of their very own Songstress of Hope, unwilling to let her rival win this singing duel even though it was painfully obvious who had the advantage.

To his wingmen's surprise, Sagittarius-01 let out a feral roar and sped towards his newly acquired target.

"_WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS, RANKA?_"

He dived towards their enemy, weaving through the swarms of Vajra gathered around their little queen, not even bothering to fire at the hostile aliens shooting at him as he zipped past them. This senseless war, his peers struggle, his loved one's suffering… He was going to end it all with this one kill.

Just as he was going to unload the content of his super packs, a purple beam forced him to deviate from his course.

Cursing through his gritted teeth, Alto searched for the beam's source. It wasn't long before he spotted a familiar fighter, eyes flaring up with rage as he instantly recognize his attacker. There was only one VF with that purple color scheme he knew of.

"You again!"

* * *

Brera Sterne grunted as his VF-27 zoomed past the VF-171EX he had just missed.

"_Tch_… Persistent, aren't you?"

Under different circumstances, he would have been impressed. An un-enhanced pilot in a crude fighter such as Frontier's VF-171 avoiding this shot was already an achievement in itself and he would have taken great pleasure in toying with him had they met earlier.

Too bad he had no time to waste on this one, Ranka's safety was his top priority.

The cyborg made an otherwise impossibly sharp turn had he not been one and lined up the red striped fighter in his sights.

He wasn't going to let him fire a single round at his sister.

* * *

Alto continuously cursed as he tried to shake off his pursuer. He had made a promise, he wasn't going to die out here-and especially not at the hands of that cyborg.

The red-striped fighter banked towards an asteroid field. Upon reaching it, the long-haired pilot unloaded his super pack's missiles pods he had saved until now, effectively creating a smokescreen, shielding him from the cyborg's view.

Having to resort to a trick learned from his last encounter with his former squad leader wasn't to his liking but he had no other choice.

Alto shifted to Gerwalk mode to scan his surroundings in search of his archenemy. He knew his only chance now was to find the Galaxy pilot before he found him.

A warning signal flashed on his screen, soon followed by a powerful beam he managed to evade by a hair's breadth. Way too close to his liking.

"Damn!"

The Sagittarius squad leader shifted back to fighter mode before making his way out of the asteroid field, followed closely by Brera Sterne's Lucifer.

As he aimed his VF-171 head cannons towards his pursuer, Alto cursed for the umpteenth time since he crossed the VF-27's path. Each minute lost in this fight equaled to an additional minute during which Sheryl had to sing.

"_Taichou!_"

Sagittarius-1 paled as he heard Maruyama's voice over the channel.

"Sagittarius-2, 3! Don't interfere! It's an order!"

Maruyama ignored this order. There was no way in hell he was going to idly watch his leader getting shot down by this unknown bastard. Once he had his target lined up, the young man fired, against his better judgment.

A swift change to Battroid mode and Brera Sterne was above his prey, his charged beam gun pointed at the unfortunate rookie, ready to blow him to smithereens.

"Maruyama!"

Brera grunted as he avoided several shots from yet another annoying plane. With a swift turn, he aimed at the third fighter and fired a volley from his gunpod, blowing one of his assailant's wings in the process.

The cyborg didn't get to finish him however as he had to once again avoid the rounds fired by the red-striped Battroid charging at him.

Alto let out another loud battle cry as he closed in on the purple mecha. He wasn't going to let him kill any of his men either.

Coming out of nowhere, a green VF-27 maneuvered to his three o'clock, showering him with beams on rapid-fire mode, forcing the NUNS pilot to deviate from his course. Alto unloaded his last missile pod on Brera before turning his attention to his new attacker. Unlike the purple one, the green VF-27 didn't put up much of a fight and went down surprisingly quick.

As quick as it had been, it still gave the time to Brera to line the long-haired pilot for a clean shot.

"Shit!"

The cyborg licked his lips in anticipation. Finally, he would get rid of this hindrance.

Or so he thought.

For the first time in years, the light green-blond lost his cool and cursed loudly as he shifted back to fighter mode and sped away to avoid the large beams fired at him before making a sharp turn and charging back at the familiar red Queadluun-Rea.

* * *

As soon as he recovered from his initial shock, Alto headed towards the Meltran to lend her a hand in her duel, leaving Nene to help his subordinates.

"Klan!"

"Get lost, hime! He's mine!"

"Like hell he is! I saw him f"-

A sudden flash caught the three pilots' attention.

"What the"-?

Following it was the biggest energy beam fired since the battle for the Vajra homeworld began.

Brera's eyes widened upon realizing what had just happened.

"_RANKA!_"

Battle Frontier had just fired at his sister's ghostly apparition.

* * *

None of the executives present on Battle Frontier's bridge could believe what they were seeing.

In place of Ranka Lee's image stood the flagship from their supposedly lost sister fleet, unscathed as it had been covered from the blast by a multi-layered wall of Vajras.

"Impossible! Macross Galaxy has already been…!"

Leon inwardly cursed as Admiral Perry voiced his surprise. He should have known better than trying to get rid of that damned woman who faced him now with not only a whole army of ruthless aliens but also a Macross class ship.

The newly appointed president slammed his fist on his console.

"What are you waiting for? Shoot that damn ship down already!"

"But what about the possible survivors-"

"Just fire it already! Would you compromise the whole colony's safety for a handful of possible survivors?"

The admiral didn't object this time. This man was too good for his own welfare and was clearly unfit to be the fleet leader, the kind of man to be killed first.

"We have to wait for the main battery to cool down before firing another shot."

The current president returned his attention to the purple mecha displayed on the main screen. All he could do for now was to pray that Grace O'Connor wouldn't be the first to strike.

* * *

"G-Galaxy…?"

Sheryl dropped her microphone upon seeing Battle Galaxy. She couldn't believe what she was seeing, the flagship from her homeland, which she thought had been long lost to the merciless Vajras, was standing before them.

The songstress stayed still, unable to make the slightest movement. There was so much she wanted to say at this moment, so many thoughts racing in her mind to voice out, so many questions she needed to be answered…and yet only a single word made it past her parted lips.

"Why…?"

Why was the purple battleship there, on their enemy side nonetheless? After all the efforts and the PR campaigns she had conducted to stimulate the researches for potential survivors…

She told Alto she had no fond memories of the ship in which she had contracted the V-type virus, it wasn't entirely true.

Yes, she couldn't recall anything about her parents. In fact she couldn't recall anything prior to her harsh life in the slums. But there were also more pleasant ones, her first meeting with Grace and how she rescued her from misery, the first meal Grace made for her, the piano lessons she gave her followed by the singing lessons, their first single topping Galaxy's chart…

A tremor caught the Galactic Fairy by surprise resulting in a painful landing on the floor. As she tried to get back up, her hand brushed against her microphone, the shiny object drawing her attention.

_Grace_… If it hadn't been for her she would most probably be dead by now. If her former manager hadn't taken care of her like an older sister would have, she would have never made it as the Galactic Fairy. Sheryl Nome owed everything to Grace O'Connor, the same woman, manager, older sister, who both pulled her out of Galaxy slums and then abandoned her like an expired product…

"_I'll survive this battle and definitely come back"_

Alto…

Thoughts of the young man who gave her a new home quickly flooded the songstress mind, distracting her from her Galaxy memories.

Sheryl reached for her microphone after swiftly wiping away tears she could not afford to shed at this very moment. Now wasn't the time for crying over her native fleet. She'd rather do all she can to protect Alto's home, a place she has come to call hers as well.

* * *

"Not bad… Not bad at all."

Such persistence was certainly worthy of her praise. Frontier's army, their pathetic leader, Dr. Mao's grand-daughter… They were still all fighting to the fullest of their abilities even after witnessing the overwhelming power of the Vajras, led by their little queen.

Grace sighed as she watched the 25th emigration fleet continue to struggle against the mighty alien race. It was a real shame but no matter how entertaining this display of bravery and patriotism was, it didn't change the fact that she would eventually have to bring an end to it.

"Antares 1, stop fooling around. It's time to end this."

"But Ranka"-

"What better way to protect her than ending this pointless battle?"

Brera pondered on her words. The major was right, he couldn't keep on merely defending his sister even if Ranka would be against him destroying her foster home. He had no other options left.

"…Understood."

Grace smirked upon hearing her underling's reply. He was so easy to manipulate.

However, she also knew he would most probably be not up to the task. After all, whether you're called Brera Sterne or not, taking out a Macross class battleship with a single Valkyrie wasn't an easy feat.

It was a chance she happened to have a ship perfectly fit for the job under command.

"Galaxy…"

* * *

Alto hadn't wanted to believe it. Even after Klan told him about her suspicions, he had refused to believe their sister fleet was behind this bloodshed.

The Vajras couldn't have just taken control of the battleship when they attacked the 21st emigration fleet. Highly unlikely, considering the Vajras' tendency to attack on sight and the pristine state of the purple ship… Even more when said ship had all its turrets pointed at the other Macross class ship present on the battlefield.

_Sheryl…_

Alto could only imagine her inner turmoil upon witnessing this scene.

A movement to his right diverted his attention from the purple behemoth.

"Wait! Where do you think"-

Once he realized where it was headed to, Alto hurriedly gave chase to the VF-27, praying his VF-171EX enhanced engines would be able to catch up with the unbelievably fast Galaxy craft.

"Alto!"

"_Nee-san!_"

Klan stopped in her tracks and turned around just in time to see a large group of fighters launching from Battle Galaxy. She was too far away to identify those crafts but their signature erratic movements as they closed in Nene's Queadlunn-Rea and the two Sagittarius squad members were more than enough to give away their identities.

"Ghosts V-9!"

Knowing full well the three wouldn't stand a chance, the Pixie leader dashed towards the group, praying Sagittarius-1 would be able to get the upper-hand in his duel with the VF-27.

* * *

Sheryl kept on singing despite the explosions drawing near. In the distance, one could see a purple machine leaving in its wake a trail of destruction as it disposed of everyone foolish enough to hinder it on its way to ending this war.

The songstress let out a small yelp as a pink beam struck a destroid stationed near the bridge.

_Get a grip on yourself, Sheryl Nome!_

A collective cry prompted the Galactic Fairy to open her eyes.

She was met by a barrel pointed directly at her.

Her grip tightened around her microphone as she looked up defiantly at the Battroid green visor. What harm could a single fighter do against Battle-25's pinpoint barrier system anyway? A lot at point blank, if the crew's reaction was anything to go by.

Sheryl was denied an answer to her question as the purple mecha suddenly lost one of his leg and was tackled from behind by a gray one.

* * *

"_YOU!_"

The cyborg was literally boiling with rage for the first time since his surgery. He had experienced numerous feelings he had long since forgotten during the last months spent around his sister but none of them could compare in intensity of the pure rage flooding his senses upon being interrupted by the same unit yet again.

"Damn! Damn! DAMN!"

Shouting a string of curses uncharacteristically, Brera exited the cyberspace interface he had been using until now and grasped his VF-27 manual flight controls, directing all his vernier thrusters in the same direction in an attempt to jerk the mechanical arm holding the beam rifle from the VF-171EX's grasp.

Seizing this opportunity, Alto pulled his Battroid in the opposite direction, ripping the VF-27's arm in the process. Using the momentum to his advantage, he spun around his mecha, effectively catching the VF-27 head with its own arm.

The VF-27 was quick to retaliate and swung his remaining arm at the gray Battroid, crushing one of its upper limbs as the punch connected.

Brera hurriedly switched to Gerwalk when he noticed the head turrets aiming at his cockpit and rammed into the NUNS machine.

Upon seeing the exposed cockpit, Alto saw red – or rather purple in that case- and brought down his Battroid's remaining arm down in a loud cry to crush the bastard who tried to murder the Galactic Fairy.

The Sagittarius leader wasn't fast enough though and cursed loudly as the cyborg managed to catch the gray fist inches away from its intended target.

A frozen Sheryl stared at the gruesome battle happening just in front of her. The sight of these two pilots, whose goals were so different – one was protecting them, while the other tried to kill them all – and yet shared the same blood lust, terrified her.

The purple unit's three remaining main thrusters suddenly flared up and pushed back their savior before pulling an equally sudden halt, the force exerted in the process being enough to break off the VF-171EX's second arm.

The songstress couldn't pull her eyes off from the fight, even as the VF-27 turned back to Battroid mode and grabbed the friendly unit's head turrets, severing its head in one swift motion.

It wasn't a fight anymore; it had turned into an execution.

Sheryl felt nauseous upon seeing the headless/armless mecha firing blindly with the forward guns mounted on its torso, each random shot being easily dodged by the enemy who dived towards its floating rifle before dashing out of her field of vision.

* * *

"You're not getting away!"

Alto promptly switched back to fighter mode and left in pursuit of the Galaxy Variable Fighter, his battered VF-171EX managing to catch up, thanks to the VF-27 missing one of his legs.

However, a bright flash diverted his attention from his enemy before he had him lined up for a shot, a flash similar to the previous one that already interrupted their duel once. However the NUNS pilot was the one prone to panic this time around.

The VF-171EX made a sharp turn back to Frontier's flagship, forgetting all about his ongoing dogfight with the cyborg. All color drained from his face upon seeing the battleship state after failing to fully dodge its Galaxy counterpart shot, gone was its entire left leg section and even though the bridge seemed to have sustained no direct damage, he knew a shock of this magnitude was bound to have repercussions inside the ship.

"_SHERYL!_"

This sudden shift in attention didn't go unnoticed by Brera who wasted no time to aim his beam rifle at his ex-pursuer currently moving in a straight line, paying no more heed to the red Queadluun-Rea closing in fast and firing at him from afar. Not even a beam connecting with his mecha's remaining leg could prevent him from finally shooting down this annoying hindrance.

"SCATTER TO THE ENDS OF THE GALAXY!"

The VF-27 fired one last beam before getting completely incapacitated, leaving no chance for his rival to dodge despite him trying his best to deviate in time from his straight course.

* * *

Sheryl flinched as she got up from the cold floor. Unlike the rest of the crew whom had all been fastened to their chairs, there was nothing in the songstress vicinity she could have used to keep herself from getting tossed around. No doubt she would have to keep her pilot at bay for several days with all the bruises she was bound to have after this, if they managed to live through this war of course.

The Galactic Fairy reached for her microphone when amidst all the yelling she heard one of the bridge bunnies report yet another loss.

"Sagittarius-1 down!"

It was only another loss out of many for the crew members, one out of the many that had been reported since the beginning of the battle.

For the Galactic Fairy, however, her whole world fell apart with this single phrase.

"Alto…"

_I want to survive.  
I still want to live.  
I love you._

A song she had written during their short time living together, a song that simply stated the reason behind her newfound will to live.

A song she would probably never get the chance to sing now even though she had promised herself she would keep singing no matter what.

Despite her whole world crumbling down, the fight went on. Time had stopped for no one except for her.

Had she been in a clearer state of mind, she might have told herself she wasn't the only one who had lost a loved one...parents, children, her Meltran friend… Such was the cruelty of war.

"Alto…"

Sheryl brought her microphone to her parted lips in a mechanical gesture, completely oblivious to the commotion caused by the SMS Quarter's appearance, flanked by the 33rd Marine Battalion survivors under Major Oghotwhai's command.

_The truth is simple. I love you._

Yet again another love song she had written while sharing the same roof with the former performer. Another one she would never get to sing now.

Neither the Macross Quarter's rushing towards Battle Galaxy to prevent it from shooting again nor the arrest of President Mishima had any effect on the songstress who was just staring into space, her eyes devoid of their usual twinkle. She just stood still in the center of the makeshift stage, mouthing the name that grew on her during her prolonged stay in the 25th emigration fleet. Each time, uttering the name with added intensity than the last one.

Her eyes widened as the piece of news finally sank in, the tears she had saved until now freely falling down her face.

"_ALTO!_"

Sheryl kept on screaming her lover's name like a possessed woman, clutching her head while doing so. A medical team was soon dispatched by the commanding officer to take care of the hysterical woman but to no avail.

Neither the medical staff's efforts nor the voice of Ranka Lee, freshly rescued by the Macross Quarter, managed to break her free from her trance.

All the galactic fairy could see as she looked around was a mass of unidentifiable, viscous forms moving towards her, a feeling of dread as an unknown word resounded in her foggy mind, a single word which terrified her.

_Kadun._

Sheryl kept on shouting her deceased lover's name, naively hoping he would save her from the ghastly apparitions.

That was when she noticed it, a viscous body way bigger than any other, rapidly growing larger the nearer it got.

The songstress' shriek filled the entire bridge, immediately followed by an enormous explosion.

* * *

Grace laughed maniacally at the sudden turn of events. Although the Vajra Queen had just destroyed the charging Battle Galaxy, the irony of it all was too much for her.

"You think you can steal the Queen's throne from me?"

The girl she had turned into one of the greatest songstress, the subject she had left to die after she realized she would never live up to her expectations, Dr. Mao's grand-daughter… Sheryl Nome was now threatening to ruin her grand scheme even though she was practically on her deathbed.

After all those years of waiting, her Nome blood decided to manifest itself at the worst possible moment. Although she had stopped laughing, a manic grin still adorned her torn features.

"_I'LL SHOW YOU WHO THE REAL QUEE-!_"

The mad scientist didn't get to finish her line as she was vaporized by Battle Frontier's main battery, this last shot ending the disastrous war.

* * *

Shun's VF-171EX carefully made his way through the huge amount of debris scattered around in search of possible survivors. Among the ships remains, he could spot several maimed bodies floating around, the sight of which made him sick.

The young pilot vigorously shook his head. He had to proceed.

Averting his eyes from the gruesome scene, Sagittarius-3 continued towards the distress signal emitted by his squad leader's ex-gear, dread flooding him as he got closer.

What if all that awaited him was just another mutilated body?

The young man switched to Gerwalk mode and began to scan the area, unknowingly holding his breath as he did so.

Upon meticulously scanning the surrounding area, Shun finally spotted who he was searching for.

With a sigh of relief, he made his way towards his squad leader, zooming in on his target.

* * *

"Move! _MOVE!_"

It was the only thought on his mind since the screaming relayed by the fold quartz earring had been replaced by a deafening silence. Nothing else mattered at the moment for the pilot, totally oblivious to what had been going on since he got shot down and barely managed to eject before his fighter exploded.

Alto cursed as his ex-gear thrusters refused to ignite despite all his begging. With his suit failing him, he could neither call for help nor get back on his own and could only hope his distress beacon was still working.

_Sheryl!_

He had to get back to Battle Frontier as soon as possible.

The pilot scrutinized the vicinity, eyes darting everywhere in a frantic search for a friendly unit.

To his utmost relief, he soon spotted a lone VF-171EX coming his way and began gesturing unashamedly.

At last, he would be able to go back to his fairy's side.

He could only hope he wouldn't be late like what she always sang in her song.

* * *

For the second time in his life, Alto found himself staring at a natural sky. Its best feature? Being completely free of holographic panels reminding you the maximum height you could reach. He should be rejoicing. This was, after all, the sky he had yearned for all along, the sky Sheryl opened up for him in exchange of her very health…

Alto sighed as he took a seat besides the bed placed in the middle of one of the sanitized room aboard the Macross Quarter.

_One cannot fly alone._

True to his words, he had no intention to fly alone anymore. If he couldn't share it with the comatose woman laid down before him, he'd rather not fly at all.

The pilot took his fairy's hand and began stroking it gently with his thumb. He alternated between circular motions and drawing random figures on her smooth skin, his gaze never leaving her face as he did so.

It was the first time he felt that lost. Even when Klan told him about Sheryl's condition, he instinctively knew what he had to do, not that he had that many options to begin with…

"Wake up, Sheryl…"

His voice was no more than a mere whisper and yet Alto held his breath as he waited, to no avail, for a reaction. Any sign showing that she could hear him, feel his touch, anything… If only it were that simple…

A hand on his shoulder jerked him from his thoughts.

"Taichou!"

"_Gah!_ Ever learn to knock on a door before?"

The sight of their fearsome leader jumping out of his seat with only a slight tap on the shoulder could have been a funny scene if it hadn't been for one fact.

"We knocked thrice."

Alto looked up at his subordinates, only to be met by two worried faces. The squad leader immediately shifted his gaze back to his lap, unable to retain eye contact. He must have reached an all time low if even Maruyama gave him this look.

"I'm sorry I was just… thinking."

Shun's eyes moved from his hierarchic superior to the comatose Galactic Fairy, his gaze lingering on their linked hands as he shifted it back to the young man.

"Taichou… You should get some rest…"

It was even truer considering the strenuous day they had.

"It won't do her any good to just ruin your health."

Alto's ears perked up at this, Shun had a valid point, he knew it well. Even then he still couldn't bring himself to leave her side. Not after the desperate shouts he had heard.

"What if she wakes up…?"

This thought had been plaguing his mind ever since he learned what had happened on Battle Frontier's bridge, how the Galactic Fairy went into an inexplicable frenzy, how she went limp just when Battle Frontier blew up the Vajra Queen's head...

What if she found herself alone upon waking up?

The very thought terrified him.


End file.
